Minnesota Lynx and U.S. Olympic team forward Napheesa Collier missed Saturday’s 74-67 victory over Washington with a plantar fasciitis condition in her left foot. No specific timetable has been given for her return.
Cheryl Reeve, coach of the Lynx and the U.S. Olympic team, said a potential return for Collier will be weighed against guarding her readiness for the Olympics.
“It’s certainly on our minds. There’s no way I’m going to sit here and say we aren’t considering that,” Reeve said. “The situation she’s in, it’s best for us to just kind of take it day by day.”
The Lynx have four games remaining before the break for the July 20 All-Star Game in Phoenix, where Collier is scheduled to play for Team USA vs. Team WNBA. That’s followed by the Paris Games, which start July 26.
Collier has dealt with plantar fasciitis since her college career at UConn. She limped off the court Thursday after feeling discomfort in her foot with 2 minutes, 36 seconds left in the third quarter and did not return to Minnesota’s loss to the Connecticut Sun. Saturday, she was on the bench in street clothes.
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“This is something she’s used to dealing with,” Reeve said. “At the same time, she has goals. And we’ve always felt like doing right by the players … balancing if it’s good for her to go, then we’ll look at that. And if it’s not, and it’s in the name of being ready for when we have a chance to get the national team together [we’ll do that]. We’re just going to evaluate that. It’s obviously too soon. We’ve got a couple of weeks.”
The Lynx won Saturday after losing their previous two games. Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams led Minnesota with 17 points each. Dorka Juhasz, who started in place of Collier, had 2 points and a team-best 11 rebounds as the Lynx moved to 15-6.
“We’ve got to depend on our defense,” Williams said about how the Lynx won without Collier. “We emphasize that so much … and that’s what we did. We all knew we had to give just a little bit more.”
Collier was named MVP of the Commissioner’s Cup final, won by the Lynx over New York on June 25. Earlier in June, she was named to her second 5-on-5 Olympic team for the United States. Collier, who was on the All-WNBA first team last season, is averaging 20.0 points, 10.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists this year.
“Phee will work her tail off and do what’s necessary,” Reeve said of Collier coming back to the court. “I’ll just check in every day and see where it’s at.”