Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu headlines Mercury injury report

The New York Liberty were expected to be arguably the best team in the WNBA heading into the 2026 season, but the team has gotten off to a slow start. New York is just 3-4 and sitting in 11th place in the league. They’ve notably lost three games in a row. One reason for New York’s early struggles has been the health, or lack thereof, of Sabrina Ionescu.

The star guard and one of the league’s best 3-point shooters missed the Liberty’s first five games while recovering from a foot injury suffered in the preseason. The Oregon product returned to play 30 minutes and score 11 points in her May 24 debut, but the team rested her during the back-half of a back-to-back.

Now, Ionescu is back on the injury report for a new issue. Annie Costabile reported that Ionescu is on the injury report ahead of the Liberty’s game against the Phoenix Mercury because of back soreness. The four-time All-Star is questionable to play in that game. Also on the injury report are Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (questionable for personal reasons) and Satou Sabally (questionable with an illness). Phoenix’s Monique Akoa Makani is probable for the game.

With more talent and teams in the WNBA than ever before, the Liberty can’t afford Ionescu to have lingering health issues or to be limited by injuries this season. Her debut was underwhelming from a production standpoint, and the Liberty have championship expectations for this season. The season is still young, and perhaps this injury won’t be something that affects Ionescu going forward, but a back problem will certainly be something to monitor.