The Liberty will continue to be shorthanded for the foreseeable future.
That’s because Satou Sabally will be away from the team as she recovers from a head injury suffered in an 87-76 road win against the Las Vegas Aces on June 23.
“She’s going to be away from the team for a little bit,” Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco said. “It’s her second significant head injury in the past 12 months. So as with all our players, health will always be the focus, and we look forward to getting her back. She’s just going to take some time right now.”
Sabally left a June 23 win in the first quarter and hasn’t been back on the court since then. Initially, the team designated her as out with “concussion protocol” as the reason.
That designation changed from “concussion protocol” to “head” about 27 hours before Thursday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Sparks.
She’s listed as “not with team” for Wednesday’s injury report. On last Saturday’s injury report for the eventual next-day blowout win against the Aces, Sabally was also listed as “not with team.” But, she was seen exiting the Barclays Center Saturday afternoon in street clothes as media awaited the open viewing session of practice.
Sabally “initially cleared” concussion protocol, DeMarco said Thursday. But the team decided to use caution as Sabally recovers from a second head injury within the last year.
Sabally’s previous concussion occurred in Game 3 of the 2025 WNBA Finals as a member of the Phoenix Mercury. That injury sidelined her for the rest of the 2025 postseason and winter Unrivaled season.
DeMarco, who has coached star players that suffered major injuries in his time with the Golden State Warriors, reflected on how difficult it is for athletes trying to get back on the court while attempting to shake off a nagging injury bug.
“I mean, you’re the best in the world if you’re playing this league. It’s hard when it’s taken away from you, and it’s very lonely when you’re coming to the gym and you’re working with performance and you’re working in the weight room and you’re getting shots up with maybe a friend or another coach that’s not even part of the team at times,” said DeMarco, who has also been without Leonie Fiebich for the last 14 games.
“We’re lucky enough here to have a large staff, and we’ve always had people around Satou. But in other instances, like when I was in the NBA, we had players who are away from the team for months at a time, and it gets tough.
“Luckily, Satou is extremely smart. She’s funny. She’s got a lot of friends. People love being around her. She has other interests, so I think she’s done a good job managing it, and she’s got the right people around her. Like I said earlier, we’re really looking forward to getting her back, and she will be back, and she’s going to play at an elite level again. But in terms of just the broad scope of players who have to deal with injuries, like it’s so hard. It’s so hard, and sometimes I think fans, people who watch this game are like, ‘Oh, you know, get over it. You’re making money, or you’re doing this, or it’s only for this long.’ It’s just it’s not that easy.”
Sabally, the team’s prized offseason acquisition, has played in just 13 of the Liberty’s 35 regular-season games entering Friday. The three-time All-Star also missed time earlier this season due to a cyst and undisclosed illness.
She joined the Liberty on a two-year deal after leading the Mercury in scoring (16.3) en route to a 2025 WNBA Finals appearance against the eventual champion Aces.
Sabally is averaging 10.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 13 games (five starts) while trying to get in rhythm in her first Liberty season.
Her absence — along with DNPs from multiple key Liberty starters — contributed to a contending team entering Thursday in a three-way tie for sixth place in league standings.
The Liberty lineup of Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Fiebich and Sabally have played just two games together this season.
“100 percent,” Ionescu said when asked if the lack of continuity is hindering the team from reaching a level they believe can ultimately be reached.
“There’s no excuse, though. Every team goes through it, but I think for us particularly, not having our starting unit get reps in the regular season is hard. Other teams, maybe a player or two, it happens early, and then you come back and you’re able to get a majority of the season to get together. And for us, that’s just — it’s not going to happen because it hasn’t yet, and there’s not that many games left. But hopefully, we’ll be able to, you know, get everyone back at the right time, and you know, continue to build chemistry through the practices that we have in the rest of the games.”
Fiebich and Sabally’s injury absences also puts their FIBA World Cup status in jeopardy with the tournament set to take place from Sept. 4-13 in Berlin — the home soil of the two players.