Alexa Filippoespn3 minutes to read
UConn guard Azzi Fudd will miss the remainder of the 2023-24 season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament and torn meniscus in her right knee, the team announced Wednesday.
Fudd suffered a non-contact injury last week during practice, according to coach Geno Auriemma, when she went up to shoot the ball and noticed afterward that she felt funny. She missed No. 6 UConn’s last two games against Maryland and Minnesota, both wins, watching from the bench.
“We are all very upset for Azzi,” Auriemma said in a statement. “She has worked hard to be healthy for this season, and it’s unfortunate that she put in so much hard work and had a setback like this. Azzi loves the game and works tirelessly. I’m confident she will rehabilitate with the same work. “The ethic and the comeback are better than ever. We will obviously miss her presence on the field, but Azzi will continue to be a great teammate and an important part of this team this season. Our program will support Qazi during her recovery in every way we can.”
Fudd, a junior, will undergo surgery at UConn Health at a later date, the school said.
Although she will be age-eligible to participate in next year’s WNBA Draft, Fudd told ESPN’s Rebecca Lobo before her injury that she plans to return to UConn for the 2024-25 season.
The tears are the latest injury for the No. 1 recruit from the Class of 2021 and the former Gatorade National Player of the Year. She missed 11 games as a freshman with foot problems before being sidelined for all but 15 games in her sophomore season due to right knee injuries. Fudd returned in time for the postseason, where the Huskies were upset in the Sweet 16, snapping their streak of 14 consecutive Final Four appearances.
Vadd tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and anterior cruciate ligament (MCL) in her right knee in April 2019.
She is the second UConn player to tear her ACL in the past 15 months, following Paige Bueckers’ injury in August 2022 that caused her to miss the 2022-23 season. Redshirt freshman Jana Alfi is also out for the season after tearing her Achilles tendon in July.
Expectations were high internally and externally that Fudd, who averaged 13.1 points in 42 games in Storrs, would have her most impactful season yet while playing alongside the Bueckers. But the duo of highly touted recruits only played 17 games together over three seasons due to injuries.
“We’ve always dealt [injuries] “Really, really, really well,” Auriemma said last week when asked about the possibility of Fudd’s long-term absence. “We’ve always been very resilient. For us to win 31 games last year, given what we’ve been through, they respond and they don’t frown. They really don’t.”
“So when you said, ‘Hey, we’re just going to have to solve this problem,’ it obviously changes your game, and it probably changes the way you want to play. And it definitely changes your offense.”
“No one is going to be like Izzie, but we can all do things that help fill her void and make sure we take responsibility for her and do all the little things,” Bickers added.
UConn has two tough non-conference matchups this week against No. 2 UCLA on Friday and WNIT champion Kansas on Saturday as part of the Cayman Islands Classic.
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