The 2021 Naismith Women‘s College Basketball Player of the Year, UConn‘s Paige Bueckers, returned to practice on Wednesday.
The sophomore basketball player injured her left knee during her team‘s game against Notre Dame on Dec. 5. Her injury resulted in a tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus tear requiring surgery just a week later, causing her to be out for upwards of eight weeks.
On Wednesday, Bueckers wore a brace to practice and participated for the first time since her injury.
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma told the Hartford Courant that Wednesday was “the first day that she was able to get out on the court where there was some semblance of defense and that she could run up and down the floor a couple of times, two trips at a time for a few minutes. Up to now, the last couple of days were just shooting and some mobility testing.”
Auriemma also noted that the team is taking it day-by-day for Bueckers‘s official return to the court. Whether or not she'll play will depend on how she’s feeling.
UConn has five remaining regular season games before the Big East tournament and NCAA tournament, which both begin in March. With Bueckers‘s return to practice, the team is hopeful she can return for those important tournaments.
Bueckers averaged 21.2 points per game through the six games she played this season. She has missed 16 total games since her injury.
