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    Video: Angel Reese Says She Will Have Surgery on Wrist, Details Season-Ending Injury

    Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacekX.com LogoFeatured Columnist IVSeptember 9, 2024

    CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 6: Angel Reese #5 of the Chicago Sky looks on during the game against the Los Angeles Sparks on September 6, 2024 at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2024 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
    Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images

    The Chicago Sky will be without Angel Reese for the rest of the season thanks to a hairline fracture she suffered Friday, and she provided more details for fans on a social media post.

    Reese revealed she could have continued playing instead of undergoing surgery, but that option presented too much risk.

    Julia Poe @byjuliapoe

    Angel Reese provides more details about her SEI via TikTok.<br><br>Hairline fracture incurred Friday. Technically could have played on, but elected for surgery to avoid arthritis, damage, etc. <br><br>Timeline: surgery on Tuesday, hard cast for 4 weeks, soft for 2 weeks, then into rehab. <a href="https://t.co/Z8MSZbY551">pic.twitter.com/Z8MSZbY551</a>

    "The risk of not having surgery, I could literally have arthritis at 22 years old," she said. "That wasn't an option. … Long term, I literally could have not played any more because this is a very hard place to heal because the blood flow is, literally, zero to none. So that wasn't an option."

    As a result, she will be in a hard cast for four weeks and a soft cast for two before she can begin the rehab process in full.

    The injury cut short a historical rookie season for Reese, who Chicago selected with the No. 7 overall pick of the 2024 WNBA draft.

    She averaged 13.6 points, 13.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 39.1 percent from the field and 18.8 percent from deep. Her rebound average was the highest in league history, and she also set a WNBA rookie record with 26 double-doubles.

    Video: Angel Reese Says She Will Have Surgery on Wrist, Details Season-Ending Injury
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    As if that wasn't enough, she set the WNBA record with 15 consecutive double-doubles during the season.

    The timing of the setback is difficult because she was coming off one of her best performances of the season with 24 points and 12 rebounds on 9-of-15 shooting from the field in Friday's win over the Los Angeles Sparks.

    Chicago is also battling for the final playoff spot and is one game ahead of the Atlanta Dream.

    This is also another injury for this year's headline rookie class, as Sparks forward Cameron Brink is out for the season with a torn ACL. Brink was the No. 2 overall pick of the 2024 draft and heard her name called right after Caitlin Clark at No. 1.

    Clark and Reese are often associated with each other as two of the headline names in the rookie class who faced each other in back-to-back NCAA tournaments.

    "It's definitely sad whenever you see anyone go down with an injury, especially people that you came into this league with," Clark told reporters when discussing Reese's injury Sunday. "You want to see her finish out this year. Obviously, she's had a historic year, and she's done some incredible things.

    "For me, getting to play against her, her motor is up there—if not the best in the league. She just doesn't stop working. I thought she had a tremendous year. I thought she came into the league and really did what she's done well her entire career as long as I've known her. It's really devastating. It's never anything you want to see from a player."

    The timeline of the injury means Reese should be back next season, and the games between the Fever and Sky will once again be appointment viewing.