Satou Sabally’s highly-anticipated debut in New York will be delayed.
The three-time All-Star won’t be in the lineup on Friday when the New York Liberty tip off the 2026 WNBA season against the Connecticut Sun as she’s been sidelined with a cyst, the team announced on Thursday.
Advertisement
Sabally isn’t the only Liberty player on the injury list for the season opener. Sabrina Ionescu (left foot) and Rebecca Allen (left leg) are also out due to injury, while Raquel Carrera and Leonie Fiebich are not with the team due to overseas commitments. As a result, the Liberty are expected to sign at least one hardship player ahead of the season opener, according to the New York Post.
Sabally, the versatile 6-foot-4 forward known as “The Unicorn,” signed with the Liberty in free agency after one season with the Phoenix Mercury, who reached the 2025 WNBA Finals last season. Sabally averaged 16.3 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in 39 games for Phoenix, while shooting 40.4% shooting from the field, and upped her scoring to 19 points and 7 rebounds in the postseason.
Her season, however, was cut short after suffering a concussion in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals. She sat out Game 4 and the Aces went on to sweep the Mercury, 4-0, to win the title.
Sabally signing with the Liberty marks her third team in as many seasons. She reunited with Ionescu, her Oregon teammate, on the Liberty. The two helped lead the Ducks to a Final Four in 2019.
Advertisement
Sabally didn’t participate in the Liberty’s two preseason games due to reconditioning.
Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at @CydHenderson.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Satou Sabally injury report: Liberty forward ruled out with cyst
