Sky guard Skylar Diggins to miss the rest of the season because of a knee injury

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Sky guard Skylar Diggins has been ruled out for the rest of the season because of a right knee injury.

Diggins hasn't played since she scored 19 points in a 98-90 loss at Las Vegas on July 3. Chicago (15-25) was eliminated from playoff contention on Aug. 23. It has four games left when the WNBA returns from its break for the FIBA World Cup.

Diggins, a South Bend, Indiana, native who turned 36 on Aug. 2, had knee surgery in October. The former Notre Dame star aggravated the injury early in the season.

“When the team was on the road, I was going back to Notre Dame to do (physical therapy) on my knee and rehab on my knee, and it started being a more aggressive program really early,” Diggins said Tuesday. “Trying to get everything I needed to deal with dealt with. And after we reevaluated with our doctors here, my team, medical team at Notre Dame, we just decided that to scale back and to shut it down for the season.”

General manager Jeff Pagliocca said the team is prioritizing Diggins' health.

“Skylar made a strong effort to get back to the court this season," Pagliocca said in a statement. "She’s been in constant communication with us through the entire process.”

Diggins signed with Chicago on the first day of free agency in April. She averaged 14.2 points and 4.9 assists during a rocky season with the Sky.

Following a June 7 loss at Toronto, Diggins called for more leadership and maturity from players and coaches. When coach Tyler Marsh made plans to use the seven-time All-Star as a reserve, Diggins posted on Instagram about her frustration with the decision.

The lingering injury sidelined Diggins before she could play in a reserve role with Chicago. She started each of her 19 games this season.

Asked if the decision to move her to the bench played a role in the shift from continuing to play to a focus on rehabbing, Diggins called the situation “extremely layered.”

“I think the primary focus with that is that I had been playing through a lot, you know, out there,” Diggins said. “Obviously, we had already been doing testing well before that road trip. I was very limited in practice. I was limited in shootarounds. I was supposed to be on minutes restriction even before that road trip. ... I hadn’t been feeling like myself out there.”

Diggins also has expressed frustration with delays in the construction of a practice facility for the Sky. It was supposed to be ready ahead of this season, but it isn’t expected to be finished until November now.

“That would be the biggest frustration with this season,” she said. “Just never feeling like we had a home base with that.”

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