UConn's Paige Bueckers avoids major injury with knee sprain, expected to only miss a week

Paige Bueckers appears to have avoided the worse case in her injury scare.

The Connecticut guard suffered a knee sprain but didn't have any significant damage and doesn't have any pain in her ankle, head coach Geno Auriemma announced on Tuesday. Bueckers won't be available for UConn's next game against Xavier on Wednesday and likely will also miss the contest against Georgetown on Saturday, but that could be all she misses.

"We're hoping we'll have her back in a week," Auriemma said.

It's the good news Huskies fan were hoping for after Bueckers went down with an injury in the win over Villanova on Sunday. Late in the third quarter, Bueckers tried to grab a loose ball and Villanova's Jasmine Bascoe dove for it. Bueckers' leg got caught under Bascoe and the Huskies guard awkwardly went down on the court.

Bueckers held onto her knee and was in visible pain before she limped to the locker room, but later came back to the bench with ice on her knee. After the game, Auriemma seemed optimistic after the game when talking about the injury, adding it was "not the worst thing that we could imagine." The optimism turned out to be good fortune for the NCAA all-time wins leader.

Auriemma compared Bueckers' injury to the same guard Azzi Fudd suffered earlier this season. Last month, Fudd had a minor knee sprain that sidelined her for two weeks.

Bueckers has had a well-documented injury history during her time with the Huskies. After missing a significant amount of time in her sophomore season, she missed all of the 2022-23 season after she tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the offseason.

Bueckers has been a leader for the Huskies in what could be her final season in Storrs with a team-high 19.9 points per game along with 4.3 rebounds and 4 assists a game.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UConn's Paige Bueckers injury update: Guard suffered knee sprain