Alexa PhilippouESPN Nov 22, 2023, 1:45 PM ET3 minute read
UConn guard Azzi Fudd will miss the remainder of the 2023-24 season after suffering a torn ACL and medial meniscus tear in her right knee, the team announced Wednesday.
Fudd suffered the non-contact injury in practice last week when, according to coach Geno Auriemma, she went up to take a shot and subsequently noticed it felt strange. She missed No. 6 UConn’s last two games against Maryland and Minnesota, both wins, and watched from the bench.
“We are all so sad for Azzi,” Auriemma said in a statement. “She has worked hard to stay healthy this season and it is unfortunate when you put in a lot of hard work and suffer a setback like this. Azzi loves the game and works tirelessly. I am confident that with the same work she will rehabilitate her morale and come back better than ever. We will of course miss her presence on the pitch, but Azzi will continue to be a great teammate and an important part of this team this season. Our program will support Azzi in her recovery as best we can.”
Fudd, a junior, will undergo surgery at UConn Health at a later date, the school said.
Although she would be age-eligible for next year’s WNBA draft, Fudd told ESPN’s Rebecca Lobo before her injury that she planned to return to UConn for the 2024-25 season.
The tears are the latest injury for the No. 1 recruit in the 2021 class and former Gatorade National Player of the Year. She missed 11 games as a freshman due to foot problems before being sidelined for all but 15 games during her sophomore season due to right knee injuries. Fudd returned in time for the postseason, where the Huskies were upset in the Sweet 16, ending their streak of 14 straight Final Four appearances.
Fudd suffered a torn ACL and ACL in his right knee in April 2019.
She is the second UConn player to suffer a torn ACL in the past 15 months, after Paige Bueckers suffered an injury in August 2022 that caused her to miss the 2022-23 season. Redshirt freshman center Jana El Alfy is also out for the season after tearing his Achilles tendon in July.
Expectations were high internally and externally that Fudd, who averaged 13.1 points in 42 games in Storrs, would have her most impactful season yet alongside Bueckers. However, due to injuries, the two highly regarded newcomers have only played 17 games together in three seasons.
“We always managed it [injuries] really, really, really good,” Auriemma said last week when asked about the potential of Fudd’s long-term absence. “We’ve always been pretty resilient. “The fact that we won 31 games last year, considering what we’ve been through, they’re not sulking. They really don’t.
“So when I said, ‘Hey, we’ve just got to figure this out,’ it obviously changed your rotation, it maybe changed the way you wanted to play. It definitely changed your offense.”
Bueckers added, “No one is going to be Azzi, but we can all do things that will help fill their void and make sure we’re accountable for them and doing all the little things.”
UConn has two strong non-conference matchups this week in the Cayman Islands Classic against No. 2 UCLA on Friday and defending WNIT champion Kansas on Saturday.