Nyara Sabally must cancel her participation in the Basketball European Championship.
After star player Satou Sabally, her younger sister Nyara has also canceled her participation in the upcoming Basketball European Championship.
The reason for this is ongoing knee problems for the 25-year-old from WNBA champion New York Liberty. The German Basketball Federation (DBB) announced this on Wednesday.
The joint cannot “withstand the strain of the tight schedule at the Women’s EuroBasket”.
“After long deliberation, I have made the difficult decision not to participate in the EuroBasket this summer,” said Sabally: “It’s not easy for me, but given the rehab for my knee, the intense EuroBasket schedule, and the tight WNBA calendar, I have to prioritize my health with a view to my long-term goals with the national team.”
Sabally already suffered two ACL tears
Forward Sabally has already suffered two ACL tears and was therefore unable to play in the entire WNBA season 2022, among other things.
Sabally has only played three of nine season games for the Liberty, on Tuesday (local time) she made her comeback against Chicago Sky (85:66) after a good three-week break and played for a good 15 minutes (nine points).
Her older sister Satou (27) recently announced after her move to Phoenix Mercury that she would not play in the European Championship because of the new challenge. This means that national coach Lisa Thomaidis will probably only have Leonie Fiebich (New York) and Luisa Geiselsöder (Dallas Wings) from the WNBA available for the tournament (June 18 to 29).
“Nyara is another big loss for our team. But her long-term health and her future playing career are the most important thing. We all support her in prioritizing that now,” said Thomaidis: “We will miss her.” Captain Marie Gülich suffered an ACL tear in preparation and will also not be there at the EuroBasket with preliminary round games in Hamburg.