Before Wednesday night’s game against the Toronto Tempo, Dallas Wings head coach José Fernández addressed the media regarding rookie guard Azzi Fudd, who had been listed as questionable heading into the game before ultimately being ruled out due to a right knee injury. As Fernández explained, the decision came down to one thing above all else: Fudd’s health.
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“The most important thing is her health and her return to play,” he said, as shared by Dallas Morning News reporter Myah Taylor on X.
With the Toronto Tempo game now added to her absence, Fudd has missed three consecutive games. It began in the matchup against the Golden State Valkyries, where she sat out of the game after experiencing knee soreness during pregame warmups. She then sat out again in the weekend game against the Minnesota Lynx, and now the Tempo game makes it three straight on the sideline.
Azzi Fudd, however, did take part in the Wings’ practice session the day before the Toronto game, including a 5-on-5 portion that was open to reporters to observe. But as it appears, Fernández is not willing to rush her return regardless of what she showed in practice. He is taking a methodical and collaborative approach to managing her recovery. As he said in a fuller version of his statement, reported by the Dallas Sports Journal:
“I think right now we’re in a return-to-play protocol. We have an incredible collaboration with not only the staff, the front office, our data scientists, our strength and conditioning, and our sports medicine. So the most important thing is her health and her return to play and her longevity.”
So far this season, Fudd has featured in 30 games for the Wings, starting 24 of them. She has been gradually building as a key aspect of the Wings team and currently sits at averages of 13.1 points, 1.8 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.
While there’s no rush to have her back in the game, Jose Fernandez did admit that her absence was going to impact the team, especially in the defensive aspect of the game.
“Well, of course it changes the dynamic, with Azzi defending and stretching the floor and her expanding her shooting ability, right, and also creating off the bounce,” Fernández said.
“I think everybody knows what she’s meant for us on the defensive end of the floor and her ability to defend. For the most part, take the other team’s best perimeter player out of things.”
“And not only that, her deflections and blocks and steals are big, because she makes a big impact on that end of the floor. Now, again, she’s also getting great coverage on the offensive end as well,” Fernandez added.
Before this Toronto Tempo game, the Wings have been on a three-game losing streak, also losing the two games that Azzi Fudd missed. Perhaps she will make it back in their next game against the Indiana Fever on Friday.