Mercury guard Diana Taurasi out at least four weeks with fractured sternum

The WNBA will be without one of its most recognized names and top stars for about a month. 

On Tuesday, the Phoenix Mercury confirmed that guard Diana Taurasi will miss at least four weeks because of a fractured sternum she suffered playing against the Connecticut Sun on May 16. While Taurasi competed in the Mercury's following two contests, a CT scan revealed the chest injury. 

Phoenix split its first four games of the campaign, and Taurasi averaged 15.8 points, 3.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds over those contests. Whenever she returns and scores six more points, she'll be the first WNBA player in history to reach 9,000 for her career. 

Taurasi, who turns 39 years old in June, began the season as the WNBA's all-time leading scorer in regular-season and postseason play, and she's a two-time WNBA Finals Most Valuable Player and three-time champion. She signed a multi-year contract to remain with Phoenix in February.