SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM was left screaming in pain after suffering an injury and her loved ones are fuming.
The 29-year-old was taken to the locker room during Indiana Fever‘s 99-93 win over the Connecticut Sun yesterday.
Sophie Cunningham was left in agony and had to return to the locker room[/caption]
Cunningham is set to undergo a scan to discover the extent of the injury[/caption]
During the second quarter, Sun guard Bria Hartley collided with Cunningham and knocked her to the floor.
Hartley was moving at pace as she dribbled and tried to play a pass around Fever’s Kelsey Mitchell.
But her momentum ended up taking her into Cunningham when the ball was long gone.
Fever’s guard was left wincing in pain and she clutched her leg in agony.
Medics rushed over to help her and they eventually helped her limp off the court and back to the locker room.
Cunningham was recently fined by the WNBA for publicly criticising referees.
And her sister Lindsey used that as ammunition when slamming the league after yesterday’s injury.
She wrote on X: “@WNBA maybe you should focus less on fining players for commenting on your poor officiating and more about hiring officials that are able to call a consistent game and protect your athletes. Pathetic. Praying for you.”
The post was retweeted by younger sibling Sophie.
Their mum then got involved with her own fiery comment.
In a now-deleted post, Paula wrote: “Hartley is a disgruntled player having trouble everywhere she goes; she’s plain mean and plays out of control.”
Cunningham’s knee was supposedly hurt in the collision.
The extent of the injury is currently unknown.
But she is set to undergo an MRI scan later today.
It is a huge blow for Fever, who are already without star player Caitlin Clark.
Clark has not featured since suffering a right groin strain on July 15.
But Fever coach Stephanie White is hopeful she will be back on the court soon.
Asked if she anticipates Clark’s return by the end of the regular season, White replied: “That’s the hope. The hope is that she’s back.”
However, she stressed that Clark will not be rushed back, adding: “The experience throughout the year, trying to come back and come back quickly, has also taught her that she needs to make sure that she’s 100 per cent.
“Yes, every competitor wants to play, but at the same time doing it the right way and making sure, after we’ve had a couple of setbacks, that we’re prioritizing her long-term health and wellness is the most important thing.”
