Mystics' Elena Delle Donne Suffers Sprained Ankle Injury, Helped Off Floor vs. Dream

Washington Mystics forward Elena Delle Donne suffered a sprained left ankle during her team's road game against the Atlanta Dream on Friday.

Jenn Hatfield of The Next relayed Mystics head coach Eric Thibault's postgame comments regarding the ailment:

The injury occurred with 15 seconds remaining in the Dream's 94-89 win. Tyler Byrum of NBC Sports Washington provided more information.

Delle Donne finished with 31 points on 13-of-19 shooting. The six-time WNBA All-Star and two-time MVP entered Friday averaging 18.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game for the Mystics, who are fourth in the league standings at 9-6.

Losing the ex-Delaware star for any amount of time is a massive blow to Washington. Delle Donne is an invaluable member of the team and one of the WNBA's greatest and most accomplished talents. Her resume also includes the 2019 WNBA title, a gold medal with Team USA at the 2016 Summer Olympics and four All-WNBA First Team recognitions.

The Mystics were already shorthanded before the Delle Donne injury with Shakira Austin out for three weeks with a hip strain. Austin is averaging 11.4 points and 7.8 rebounds on the season.

Now the Mystics will wait and see on Delle Donne's injury. At the very least, the Mystics only play once in the next week, perhaps giving Delle Donne enough time to return without missing much action. The All-Star break also looms ahead.

More specifically, the Mystics will face the Dallas Wings on Sunday before enjoying four full days of rest. They'll then play games every other day from July 7-11 before entering the All-Star break.

Washington starts the second half of the year on July 19 against the Indiana Fever.