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Sophie Cunningham, a standout guard for the Indiana Fever and a rising media personality, will miss the remainder of the WNBA season after injuring her knee during a road game against the Connecticut Sun on Sunday, the Fever announced Tuesday.
The Fever did not specify Cunningham’s exact injury but said she is expected to make a full recovery. The Fever (19-16) have just nine games left in their 44-game regular season, which wraps up Sept. 9.
In a related move, the Fever signed guard Shey Peddy to a seven-day hardship contract and released guard Kyra Lambert. Peddy, a six-year WNBA veteran, most recently appeared with the Los Angeles Sparks, averaging 5 points and 2.7 assists over six games on a hardship contract. Peddy has averaged 5.9 points and 2.3 assists during her WNBA career. Lambert played less than a minute for the Fever.
Cunningham, 29, has seen her celebrity status grow this year in her first year with the Fever, landing her own podcast, “Show Me Something,” and numerous endorsement contracts, including with Arby’s, Ring, Adidas and Yrefy. She was averaging 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 25 minutes per game before the injury.
Cunningham saw her social media following count grow to more than 1.1 million this season, especially on TikTok, after she was ejected from a game in June for fouling Jacy Sheldon of the Connecticut Sun in retaliation after Sheldon poked Fever star Caitlin Clark earlier in the game.
The injury to Cunningham was the third season-ending one Indiana has experienced in August. Guard Sydney Colson tore the ACL in her left knee on Aug. 7 in a game at Phoenix. Guard Aari McDonald broke a bone in her right foot in the same game.
And Clark still has not played since injuring her right groin in mid-July. Coach Stephanie White has not provided a timetable for Clark’s return other than to say the Fever hope that Clark returns before the regular-season finale against Minnesota.
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Is there something about the court surface and players shoes that is contributing to player leg injuries ?