For former Minnesota Lynx forward DiJonai Carrington, the injury is healed, but the mind is still recovering. She injured her left foot during Game 2 of the Lynx’s playoff victory over the Golden State Valkyries. After enduring ten months of recovery, she signed with the Chicago Sky as a free agent and has opened up about the uphill battle she faced to Chicago State of Mind Sports.
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“Honestly, this is such a traumatic injury, and I think the timing of it all also was a bit traumatic for me. The last 10 months have been really difficult, so I think just being able to come back and feel confident and not thinking every two seconds about, like, am I good? Just checking. I think just being able to play free without any type of hesitation will be a win in a successful season for me.”
The injury prevented her from playing the next playoff series, where the Lynx faced the Phoenix Mercury. Sidelined, she watched the Lynx lose to Phoenix in the next round — a helplessness that compounded the physical pain. According to the Lynx’s website, an MRI by Dr. Elena Jelsing at Mayo Clinic Square confirmed a mid-foot sprain. 10 months later, she is back on her feet, ready to perform for the Chicago Sky.
Carrington is now practicing in full live drills and team practices with the Sky. Although she was still listed as ‘out’ in the WNBA Injury Report, the practice sessions with the Sky are providing a positive boost for her mindset, as she noted in the video posted to X by Chicago State of Mind Sports.
“Obviously, contributing, helping us get back into one column more will obviously be success. But I think just, like, personally, it would be that, like, it’s been a mental, like, it’s kind of a mind-belief. So I think being able to not think about it is going to be the biggest thing for me.”
DiJonai Carrington is hopeful for a return to the active roster in the coming days, potentially even before the upcoming All-Star break. During the 2025 season, she averaged 9.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game. A team like the Sky could surely use a key player like her who can provide two-way coverage coming off the bench.
The Sky have so far endured a difficult start to the season. With a 7-16 record, they sit in 13th place in the league. The chances of making the playoffs are getting slimmer with every mounting loss, as they have won just three of their last 13 games.
But Carrington’s return offers the Sky a reprieve — a rotation piece who can ease the load on Skylar Diggins. Granted, the Sky’s troubles this season remain too big and too complex to be fixed by any one single player. But having a key rotational piece back will free up others in the squad to play their natural game.
The Sky have weathered off-court drama — the Diggins benching controversy — on top of injuries. Carrington’s return offers stability. Their off-court troubles have been compounded by one of the WNBA’s worst injury crises this season.
The Sky Have Not Played With A Full Roster This Season
The Sky have played the entire season without guard DiJonai Carrington. But she is not the only one to miss significant game time this season.
A devastating torn ACL suffered by key star Rickea Jackson completely deflated the team’s early-season momentum and ruled her out for the rest of the season. In the four games she played, she was a key contributor in Chicago’s scoring, averaging 18.0 points per game. Without her, the Sky have struggled to get points on the board.
Rookie Gabriela Jacquez missed four games earlier in the season due to a knee injury. Forward Azurá Stevens missed the first five games of the season due to a lingering left knee injury. These injuries, along with veteran guard Natasha Cloud also missing a few games, have forced the team to play with as few as eight active players. Head coach Tyler Marsh is often without any real bench availability.
This Sky will look forward to catching their breath during the All-Star break, coming back fresh, and hoping for a turnaround in results. They have a squad that can draw inspiration from the experiences of the vast array of veterans that are available to them. DiJonai Carrington’s return will further fuel the team to get some wins on their record this season.