Mercury rookie questionable for Game 2 vs. Lynx just after return from 3-month long injury

Phoenix Mercury rookie Charisma Osborne was available for selection vs. the Minnesota Lynx for the first time in three months since suffering a serious lower left leg injury and even though she didn’t end up playing, her health status is now up in the air once again.

Osborne, the Mercury’s No. 25 overall pick in this year’s WNBA Draft, was sidelined from June 22 to this past Sunday and is now questionable again with the same injury.

In the first game of the first round playoff series between the Lynx and Mercury, the UCLA product was one of two Mercury players who dressed but did not feature. Amy Atwell also sat on the bench without playing a second in the 102-95 loss.

The California native Osborne has played two games in her debut season in the league, averaging one point, 0.5 assists and 0.5 rebounds. She was waived by Phoenix shortly after training camp, and became a free agent. On June 13, the Mercury signed her.

She was the backup point guard behind Natasha Cloud when she played early on in the season, but Phoenix head coach Nate Tibbetts has gone to Celeste Taylor since Osborne originally went down with the injury and did the same in Game 1. Taylor played 12 minutes, notching three points, two assists and a block on Sunday.

Try to stay alive in the playoffs with a must-win Game 2, the Mercury and Lynx go head-to-head on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. PT inside Target Center in Minneapolis.