WNBA: Candace Parker injures right knee; MRI scheduled for Monday
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Candace Parker will fly to Los Angeles on Monday to receive an MRI on her right knee that she injured during a game in New York on Sunday, the Sparks announced Sunday evening.
Parker injured her right knee after making contact with Quanitra Hollingsworth while trying to dribble around the 6-foot-5 center following a defensive rebound with about six minutes remaining in the third quarter of a 77-67 loss to the Liberty.
Parker immediately fell to the ground and grabbed her right knee. She limped to the locker room and did not return to the game. She was averaging 18 points and 9.7 rebounds for the Sparks (4-3).
Parker, the 2008 most valuable player and rookie of the year, has played in only 35 of a possible 68 regular-season games the last two seasons. She missed the first month of the 2009 season after giving birth to her daughter and she played in only 10 games last season after she dislocated her left shoulder and needed surgery last June. She also had surgery on a torn lateral meniscus in her left knee in September.
‘It’s tough but we’re hoping everything is all right,’ Sparks’ Coach Jennifer Gillom told reporters after the game. ‘We’ve played without her before, so we just have to focus on getting to the next game and playing hard and having people step up. She just said, ‘Keep me in your prayers,’ and that’s all we can do for her right now and just hope for the best. She’s in good spirits, which is a good thing.”
-- Melissa Rohlin
