Napheesa Collier Injury Update: Major blow for Minnesota Lynx as insider provides grim timeline for star forward’s return from ankle setback

Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier is expected to miss at least two weeks due to a right ankle sprain, according to WNBA insider Kendra Andrews.

Andrews said that imaging revealed Collier avoided a major injury. She will be sidelined for at least four more games and re-evaluated on Aug. 18.

Kendra Andrews

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BREAKING: Napheesa Collier will be sidelined for at least two weeks with a right ankle sprain, sources tell ESPN.

Imaging revealed she avoided major injury when she went down against the Aces on Sunday. She’ll be re-evaluated in two weeks.

Collier, who is the favorite to win this year's MVP award, suffered the setback during the Lynx's WNBA-record 111-58 road win against the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday.

With less than 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Collier stepped awkwardly on teammate Alanna Smith's foot as they trailed a fast-break play. Collier was visibly in pain. She was helped to the locker room and was ruled out of the rest of the game.

In 26 games, Collier is averaging 23.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.6 blocks per game on 53.7% shooting. Her absence will be crucial for the league-leading Lynx.

Napheesa Collier is set to miss multiple key games down the stretch

Napheesa Collier is projected to miss a minimum of four games in the next two weeks. Most notably, she will miss two games against the New York Liberty in a rematch of the 2024 WNBA Finals. Minnesota is scheduled to face New York in three straight games in August.

Collier will be sidelined against the Seattle Storm on Tuesday and against the Washington Mystics on Friday. She will also miss the game against the Liberty on Sunday and on Aug. 16. Depending on the result of her re-evaluation on Aug. 18, Collier could also miss the third game against the Liberty on Aug. 19.

In addition, the MVP frontrunner's status for the Aug. 21 game against the Atlanta Dream is still uncertain.

Entering Monday, the Dream (18-11) are No. 3 in the standings, six games behind Minnesota (23-5) for the WNBA's best record. Meanwhile, the Liberty (18-11) are five-and-a-half games behind at No. 2.