Nneka Ogwumike’s sudden injury absence gets crucial update per Lynne Roberts

The Los Angeles Sparks will be without star forward Nneka Ogwumike for the second game on their current road trip as she was ruled out due to a hand injury. But while Ogwumike will miss the Sparks’ game against the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday, head coach Lynne Roberts was confident in that it’s not expected to be a long-term issue.

Prior to the Sparks’ game against the Aces, Lynne Roberts provided details of when Nneka Ogwumike initially sustained the injury, as well as a potential timeframe for her return to the lineup.

“Nneka is a pro’s pro. She just did not feel like she could be what she needed to be tonight for the team. It’s a left hand injury, she injured it in the game [against Phoenix], played through it as a Hall of Famer does to get the win. And then we had imaging done on it, and it’s not a long-term issue,” Roberts said. “There’s still a lot of inflamation, soreness, pain, that kind of thing. She’s just not ready to go today.

“Luckily we don’t play for another week, we play next Friday. We anticipate her being back hopefully as things progress.”

Ogwumike had originally been listed on the team’s injury report as probable against the Aces despite the reveal of the hand injury, but was ultimately downgraded before the game.

With the absence of their All-Star forward, Cameron Brink will make her first start of the season. Brink has strung together several strong games in a row now, including a 12-point, five-rebound, three-blocks performance in the Sparks’ win against the Phoenix Mercury last game.

Ogwumike is not the only frontcourt player the Sparks will be missing. Second-year center Sania Feagin has been sidelined for the last four games due to a leg injury. While the team’s depth will be tested, Roberts was confident in her squad’s ability to match up, citing the Aces’ penchant for going small at times too with A’ja Wilson alongside four guards/wings.

“We’re a little thin in the post, but playing Vegas last time, they went small quite a bit,” Roberts continued. “We can match up with that. We can go small, they can match up. So it’s just going another player deep or two in your bench.”

Ogwumike had returned the only other franchise she had ever known after playing the last two seasons with the Seattle Storm. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 WNBA Draft, Ogwumike was the 2016 WNBA MVP, the same season she helped lead the team to its third championship in franchise history.

She signed with the Sparks via free agency ahead of her 15th season in the league. Through the first five games of the season, she’s been averaging 15.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.2 steals with splits of 55.8 percent shooting from the field, 64.3 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 84.6 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

In the win against the Mercury, Ogwumike passed Tamika Catching to move into fifth on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list.

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