Following star player Satou Sabally, her younger sister Nyara has also withdrawn from the upcoming Women’s EuroBasket tournament.

The reason is persistent knee problems for the 25-year-old WNBA champion New York Liberty. The German Basketball Federation (DBB) announced this on Wednesday (June 11, 2025). The joint “cannot withstand the strain of the packed schedule at the Women’s EuroBasket.” “After much consideration, I made the difficult decision not to participate in EuroBasket this summer,” said Sabally. “It’s not easy for me, but given the rehabilitation for my knee, the intense EuroBasket schedule, and the tight WNBA calendar, I have to prioritize my health with my long-term goals for the national team.”

Forward Sabally has already suffered two ACL tears and was therefore unable to play in the entire 2022 WNBA season, among other things.

This week’s WNBA comeback

Sabally has only played in three of the Liberty’s nine regular season games. On Tuesday (local time), after a break of just over three weeks, she made her comeback against Chicago Sky (85-66), playing just over 15 minutes (nine points). Her older sister Satou (27) recently announced after her move to the Phoenix Mercury that she would not be playing in the European Championship due to the new challenge. This means that national coach Lisa Thomaidis will likely only have Leonie Fiebich (New York) and Luisa Geiselsöder (Dallas Wings) available from the WNBA for the tournament (June 18-29).

“Nyara is another big loss for our team. But her long-term health and her future playing career are the most important things. We all support her in prioritizing that now,” said Thomaidis. Captain Marie Gülich suffered a torn ACL during preseason and will also miss the EuroBasket preliminary round games in Hamburg