Liberty's Jones out 4-6 weeks with ankle sprain

New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones will miss four to six weeks with a right ankle sprain, the team announced on Saturday night.

The injury occurred at the 8:35 mark of the second quarter in Thursday night's 89-81 loss to the Phoenix Mercury, the club's first home loss of the season. Jones, 31, had previously sprained the ankle on June 5, in an 86-78 win over the Washington Mystics.

"After further imaging and evaluation, Jonquel avoided long-term injury," the team said in a statement. But she's still facing a recovery that might take her out of WNBA All-Star Weekend, which is July 18-19.

At the time of the injury, Jones, the league MVP in 2021 and Finals MVP in 2024, ranked second in the WNBA with 9.6 rebounds per game and also averaged 12.1 points and 2.3 assists for the reigning champions.

The Liberty uncharacteristically struggled against the Mercury following Jones' departure. New York was outrebounded 42-32 and had 20 total turnovers.

"Obviously we're not happy with the way we played, we should have been a little bit more aggressive in that first half and generated some energy," New York coach Sandy Brondello said. "No excuses for the way we played."

The Liberty will begin a four-game road trip on Sunday against the Seattle Storm.