The Chicago Sky got some great news when they clinched a playoff spot on Sunday, but this week has brought bad news for the team as their best player went under the knife on Tuesday.
That player is Elena Delle Donne, who underwent surgery on an injured right thumb that has kept her out of action in recent games. The star player, who won the WNBA’s MVP award last season, will miss the remainder of the regular season and at least some of the postseason, but she took to social media to thank her fans for their support:
Her message to fans read:
“Successful surgery today on my right thumb. Thanks for all the well wishes! I’ll be back on the court in no time.
“Side note: I’d like to thank the hackers for making the world aware that I legally take (sic) a prescription for a condition I’ve been diagnosed with, which WADA granted me an exemption for. Thanks, guys!”
The Sky are currently tied for fourth-place in the WNBA, but thanks to tiebreakers find themselves in sixth place behind the Indiana Fever and Atlanta Dream. The Sky have three games remaining in the regular season, and if they can climb into fourth place, they’ll get a first-round bye in the WNBA playoffs and potentially give themselves an opportunity to get Delle Donne back on the court.
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The second paragraph of her statement was directed at a Russian hacking group, nicknamed “APT 28,” that hacked into a World Anti-Doping Agency database and published confidential information about several United States Olympic athletes, including Delle Donne, gymnast Simone Biles, and tennis star Serena Williams.
The International Olympic Committee says that all of the athletes mentioned in the first round of hacks aren’t involved in any wrongdoing.
