UConn's Paige Bueckers will be out 6-8 weeks with a tibial plateau fracture, the program announced on Tuesday. She underwent testing after suffering the injury in Sunday's game against Notre Dame.
"Obviously, we're all extremely disappointed for Paige and that she suffered this injury," coach Geno Auriemma said. "It would be really hard to describe how much basketball means to Paige and how much her teammates mean to her. Her not being able to do the thing that she loves to do, to be there for her teammates, is really difficult for her."
The star sophom*ore exited the team's 73-54 win over Notre Dame with 40 seconds left on the clock after her left leg planted awkwardly while dribbling the basketball. Bueckers was able to stand and walk a bit with help after the game.
In six contests prior to the injury, Bueckers averaged 21.2 points, 6.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game for UConn. She's also averaged 2.7 steals per game.
On Wednesday, Auriemma announced the team was dealt another injury, this time to Nika Mühl, who could miss three weeks with a foot injury. Auriemma said it was a "reaction in her foot,” and they're being cautious to avoid a worst-case scenario.
Mühl’s injury comes when the Huskies are already dealing with key injuries to Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, who is out until at least mid-December with a foot injury of her own. Aubrey Griffin has also not yet played this season as she deals with a few injuries. Auriemma called her “day-to-day”
Losing all three guards at the same time, Auriemma said: “You just got to weather the storm. It's just going to be a long storm."
UConn is now down to three guards: Christyn Williams, Evina Westbrook and freshman Caroline Ducharme. The coach said he needs his players to be the best version of themselves.
(Photo: Jessica Hill / Associated Press)
Is 6-8 weeks an accurate timeline?
Virginia Zakas, Inside Injuries: A few common outcomes from Bueckers' suffering a non-contact knee injury include a bone bruise and ligament damage (worst case is a torn ACL).
An MRI showed that Bueckers avoided significant ligament damage, but she has been diagnosed with a tibial plateau fracture. Based on her expected 6-8 week recovery time, I believe this is essentially a severe bone bruise that leads to a small fracture at the surface of the tibia, the larger of the two lower leg bones. A true tibial plateau fracture would come with a 3-6 month recovery time.
Even though this is likely more of a bone bruise than a true tibial plateau fracture, it's very important to allow the bone to fully heal before returning to the court. Because of this, I expect Buecker to be out around two months with a good chance to return late in the season.
How her injury impacts UConn
Charlotte Carroll, Connecticut beat writer: Bueckers is this team's driver. As Auriemma said postgame following her injury, he doesn't like the way the team looks when she's not on the floor. But as he acknowledged, he's going to have to. And UConn could be better off for it.
The Huskies will be forced to find some additional scoring to replace Bueckers' team-high point totals. Freshman Caroline Ducharme had a breakout game against Notre Dame and could provide such scoring if she's consistent. Upperclassmen Christyn Williams and Evina Westbrook will need to play consistently.
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How many marquee games will Bueckers miss for the Huskies?
Chantel Jennings, women's basketball senior writer: A mid-to-late-January return is certainly a better option than what many had feared. She'll definitely miss games against Georgia Tech (which upset top-25 Georgia last week), UCLA and No. 7 Louisville by the end of the month. DePaul, which the Huskies play on New Year's Eve and has lost to just Texas A&M and Arizona, could be a close game.
But in terms of the two biggest games remaining on UConn's schedule — one for resume-building (Jan. 27 vs. No. 1 South Carolina) and one for resume-building and nostalgia (No. 9 Tennessee), it looks as though Bueckers could be back in the fold for the Huskies. Most importantly, this timeline gives Bueckers a chance to get back on the floor with her team well before the NCAA Tournament, when UConn hopes to make a run at the national title.
