“I’m going to protect my teammates. That’s what I do. I’m a team player, so it’s all good.” Those were Sophie Cunningham’s words back in June after she got ejected against the Connecticut Sun for shoving Jacy Sheldon in retaliation for poking Caitlin Clark’s eye earlier in the game. Fast forward to tonight, and fate took a cruel turn. Indiana’s self-proclaimed protector left the court in tears against the very same Sun, clutching her knee. And the early reports on her injury? Let’s just say they don’t sound pretty.
Early in the second quarter on Sunday, with just over 8 minutes to go, things took a turn for the worse. As Bria Hartley tried to make a pass, she landed awkwardly on Sophie Cunningham’s right knee. The Fever guard dropped to the floor in clear pain and had to be helped off by the medical staff.
Hours since, and the only update the team has is that Cunningham will be going for an MRI scan on Monday. But that isn’t stopping other doctors from giving a quick view of the situation. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Dr. Sutterer laid out three possible scenarios. “Now, the primary things that are going to be on my differential here: of course, this can cause something like an ACL tear. We can see a forced valgus load, where a player falls into the outside of their knee, pushes it inward, and that can cause enough stress to tear the ACL. I’ll admit, just the impact and the positioning of her leg, to me, did not look quite as significant for something like this.”
Knees and ACL tears have gone hand in hand way too often to ignore the possibility. Every time we hear about knee injuries, the first thing that comes to mind is usually an ACL tear. Recently, Sydney Colson suffered one and was ruled out for the season. Georgia Amoore is another athlete currently sidelined for the same reason. Cameron Brink needed over a year to recover from it, and JuJu Watkins is still out injured after suffering one during the NCAA Tournament.
For some reason, ACL injuries seem to be more common in women athletes. And no, it’s not just bad luck; science is pointing at something. Hopkins Medicine notes that the way women’s knees are built plays a huge role. They usually have more looseness and flexibility, which is great for mobility… but not so great when it comes to stability. On top of that, women often have less muscle mass around the knee, meaning less support for the joint. So while Cunningham could be sidelined for close to a year, the silver lining is that the doctor doesn’t believe she tore her ACL.
He continued, “Another thing to consider is, of course, if the knee buckles inward, you’re going to have stretch on the inside portion of the joint. The MCL ligament sits on the inside of the joint, and so that can certainly cause some stretch in the MCL when the knee is pushed inward. And so an MCL injury would be another thing on the differential here.”
The Indiana Fever have a history of dealing with MCL injuries — another knee issue that often pops up in these conversations. Just last year, Damiris Dantas spent four months recovering from one, while Natasha Howard, back in her Liberty days, needed five weeks to bounce back from an MCL strain. And this is the kind of injury where players can actually make a full recovery! Look at Stephen Curry, for example, the greatest shooter of our generation. He suffered a grade 1 MCL injury during his early days with the Warriors and went on to become the only player to get a unanimous MVP to date.
But according to the doctor, the issue that Cunningham could be suffering from is something most of us wouldn’t be able to guess: Patella dislocations, kneecap dislocations. Meaning? “Patella comes to the outside, the lateral side of the trochlea, from a combination of the knee being pushed inward.”
With the way that Cunningham had held her knee, Dr. Sutterer, believes most likely hints at patella instability. “This is the position that is going to be most comfortable initially, because they can’t straighten their knee out since that kneecap is translated on the lateral side of the joint,” he explains.
Aug 17, 2025; Uncasville, Connecticut, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) on the court injured as they take on the Connecticut Sun in the first half at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images
A kneecap dislocation can often be a long-term injury, and there’s no guarantee of a full recovery. Take Ben Simmons, for example. He partially dislocated his kneecap in 2020, which marked the beginning of his struggles as a player, though of course, other factors played a role too. UConn’s Ice Brady is another athlete who dislocated her patella and ended up missing the entire season.
Fever fans can only hope that Cunningham dodged a serious injury and it’s just a minor strain. With Scott Agness confirming that an MRI is scheduled for Monday, we’ll only know the full extent of the damage then. Until that happens, it’s all just a waiting game.
That said, even without Cunningham, the Fever still managed to pull off a win against the Sun, and coach Stephanie White was clearly pleased. Let’s take a look at what she had to say.
Stephanie White delighted after the win without Sophie Cunningham
The Fever erased a 21-point deficit to claim their third win of the season against the Connecticut Sun. Kelsey Mitchell’s career-high 38 points, combined with new signing Odyssey Sims’ 19 points and 7 assists, powered the team to a big victory, improving their overall record to 19-16. Coach Stephanie White was especially thrilled with the performance, delivering an unforgettable post-game speech in the locker room.
“I’m so f—ing proud of you. I’m so proud of you guys,” White said. “I know that sometimes it sounds like just a f—ing word when we talk about being resilient, but it’s not man, it’s how we live. It’s how y’all live and it’s a tribute to you, it’s a tribute to your connectedness, your togetherness, your toughness, your mindset, your never-give-up gritty attitudes. That’s what it takes. That’s what it takes. We will never, never be counted out, because that shit is worth it’s weight in gold. Because that shit is worth f—ing gold,” she said.
The Fever showed incredible grit to pull off tonight’s win, but the road ahead hinges on whether key players like Sophie Cunningham and Caitlin Clark can return. We’ll soon learn the severity of Cunningham’s injury, and fingers crossed to not extend Fever’s injury list to 4 guards. Stay tuned for the latest updates on her condition.
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