The month-long Olympic break has come at a fortunate time for Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and the Liberty.
The Liberty’s star wing underwent a “minor” surgery on her right knee on Tuesday and is expected to miss four to six weeks, the team announced.
Laney-Hamilton had missed the past three games due to a right knee injury for the Liberty, who wrap up the first half of the WNBA season Tuesday night at Barclays Center against the Sun.
The Liberty resume play following the Olympics break on Aug. 15, a little more than four weeks after Laney-Hamilton’s surgery.
Laney-Hamilton, a 10-year veteran, previously sat for three games in June due to an injury to the same knee.
She returned and played three games before experiencing swelling in the knee during the Liberty’s bus trip to Connecticut for their 71-68 win on July 10.
She is averaging 12.7 points per game on 47 percent shooting this season, along with 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals.
Laney-Hamilton has a history of knee troubles. She suffered a right knee injury in 2022 and underwent arthroscopic partial meniscectomy surgery, which is performed on torn meniscus cartilage.
The Liberty (20-4) have a busy injury report beyond Laney-Hamilton for Tuesday night’s crucial game against the second-place Sun (18-5).
Breanna Stewart is listed as questionable for rest reasons in an effort to manage her load ahead of the WNBA All-Star game and her preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics with the United States women’s team.
Backup wing Kayla Thornton has been marked questionable because of a neck injury.
Nyara Sabally is also questionable with back issue, which previously caused her to miss 14 games this season. She returned on June 11 against the Sky at Barclays Center.
In Laney-Hamilton’s absence, rookie Leonie Fiebich has taken on the starting role at small forward, and Thornton also has logged more minutes in the past few games.
The Liberty’s bench has delivered this season when missing one or more starters, going 10-1 during those matchups.