Bueckers has knee surgery
School says recovery time estimated at 8 weeks
UConn sophomore Paige Bueckers underwent surgery on her left knee Monday, the school announced in a statement.
The surgery, performed at UConn Health, repaired an anterior tibial plateau fracture and lateral meniscus tear that Bueckers suffered during UConn’s game on Dec. 5 vs. Notre Dame. Bueckers was diagnosed with the fracture last week, but there was no initial mention of the meniscus tear.
According to the school, Bueckers’ recovery is estimated to take eight weeks from her surgery date. That would put Bueckers on schedule for a Feb. 7 return from surgery.
But it’s unclear whether the timeline would make her available to play after eight weeks, or whether Bueckers would need more preparation for games.
The original prognosis last week offered a six-to-eight-week timeline for Bueckers’ return, so an early February return does not keep her out much longer. UConn plays 16 games between now and Feb. 9.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma said Saturday that Bueckers was soliciting other opinions before deciding on surgery. He said the decision was likely to come soon.
“Any time there’s a fracture, which that’s, by the name of it, there’s a fracture, that means there’s something that has to be fixed,” Auriemma said. “And you can either let it fix by time, or you need to go in there and fix it. I think by the next couple days, hopefully, we’re going to have a definitive answer, yes or no.”
UConn (6-2) is 1-1 without Bueckers, losing at Georgia Tech last week in the first loss to an unranked team since 2012. The Huskies beat UCLA on Saturday
and next play No. 6 Louisville on Sunday at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Bueckers was the national player of the year as a freshman, when she averaged 20 points, 5.8 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game. She is averaging 21.2 points and 6.2 assists in 36.3 minutes per game this season.
Last year, Bueckers missed one game with an ankle injury. She had ankle surgery in the offseason, which prevented her from participating in summer practices.
Bueckers is one of four injured UConn players. The Huskies are also missing freshman Azzi Fudd (foot), sophomore Nika Muhl (foot) and junior Aubrey Griffin (back, ankle).
The program has also lost two players to the transfer portal: Saylor Poffenbarger left after one game and Mir McLean left Monday.
That leaves UConn with 12 players on the roster, but only eight are healthy. The Huskies fell to No. 7 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll on Monday, the team’s lowest ranking since 2007.
Bueckers, a Minnesota native, has quickly emerged a college sports star since arriving in Storrs in 2020. She was among the most coveted college athletes when the NCAA altered its rules to allow athletes to profit off their name and image, signing with the Los Angeles-based Wasserman Media Group for representation and trademarking her “Paige Buckets” brand.
Last month, she became the first college athlete to sign an endorsement deal with Gatorade. That followed a deal with the online apparel and footwear marketplace StockX.
Beyond her celebrity, Bueckers has been every bit the player UConn expected when she chose the program as the most highly-sought-after high school prospect in the country. She led UConn to its 13th consecutive Final Four appearance last spring and has been the team’s best player this year.
Without Bueckers, UConn has been searching for an identity and the offense has been inconsistent. Auriemma said last week the team was adjusting to life without its best player, and he compared it to a past team that processed the loss of a significant player.
“Sometimes when a really good player gets hurt or something happens ... this happened to one of our teams years ago and they acted like a family member passed away or something,” Auriemma said. “And I said, it’s not supposed to be that. It’s not supposed to be that somebody died. It’s actually supposed to be that now other people that had just kinda been existing in a uniform and showing up now actually get a chance to live the game and be part of the game and be in the game instead of just existing and watching Paige do what she does.”