Connecticut Sun guard Moriah Jefferson will be sidelined due to ankle surgery

Connecticut Suns revealed Tuesday that player Moriah Jefferson had arthroscopic surgery on her troublesome right ankle. Jefferson will be reevaluated in three weeks to determine her return to play. The operation was done on Monday by Dr. Adrianna L. Gianakos, an orthopedic surgeon at Yale Medicine.

Jefferson, a first-round draft pick of the San Antonio Stars in 2016, spent the 2023 season with the Phoenix Mercury, averaging 10.5 points and 3.6 assists per game. Connecticut Sun acquired her on February 3 in a sign-and-trade from the Mercury. She has participated in nine games for Connecticut this season, averaging 2.1 points per game, and last played four minutes in the Suns' game against Chicago on June 12. 

Her absence means that for the Sun's final eight games before to the league's Olympic break for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, 10 players are available. The Olympic break would provide Jefferson more recuperation time if she isn't ready to go back by the three-week mark, and the league would restart play in mid-August.

Moriah Jefferson wonnational championships with Huskies

Jefferson, a 2016 UConn graduate, won four consecutive national championships with the Huskies and ended her collegiate career with 1,532 points and 659 assists, setting the program's assist record until it was recently broken by Nika Muhl. She was an All-American at UConn and received the Nancy Lieberman Award as the nation's finest point guard. 

Following her release from the Wings in 2022, Jefferson was signed as a free agent by the Phoenix Mercury in 2023, then during that season, she was picked up by the Minnesota Lynx. In February, the Sun acquired her from the Mercury in exchange for guard Rebecca Allen. Throughout her nine Connecticut games, Jefferson averaged 2.1 points on 37.5% field goal shooting while playing 6.8 minutes each night.

Connecticut Sun will play Washington on Thursday before coming home to face Atlanta on Friday.