Li Yueru, the Dallas Wings’ rotational center who brought wholesome vibes and a streaky jumpshot off the bench for the the team since she was traded to the team from the Seattle Storm earlier this year, will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, the team announced on Tuesday.
Yueru suffered an ACL sprain in her left knee in Friday’s 97-96 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks, according to a press release. She was able to come back into the game against the Sparks after injuring the knee after spraining
her knee, but sat out of Sunday’s 106-87 loss at the Las Vegas Aces.
She is expected to make a full recovery, but not before the end of this year. There are nine games left on the Wings’ schedule this season, starting with Wednesday’s matchup at the Sparks, whom the Wings have lost to twice this year.
The loss is a disappointing one in the midst of another disappointing season overall for Dallas. Yueru scored a career-high 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting and took two steals in 27 minutes last week in an 81-80 win at the Indiana Fever. The third-year player from China scored a key 3-point play over Aliyah Boston with just over two minutes left in that game to kill a late 13-0 run and give the Wings just enough cushion on the scoreboard to pull out the win. Earlier this season, she scored 18 and 16 points in back-to-back games at the Chicago Sky and the Fever.
Yueru asked the Storm to trade her early in the season, according to ESPN, after being buried in Seattle’s depth chart. The Wings gave up two draft picks, a 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 third-round pick, to acquire her in June. Yueru’s minutes went up from fewer than nine per game to right at 20 per game when she arrived in Dallas, and she shot at a 35.4% clip from 3-point range in 22 games with the team this year. Though her footwork on defense and offensive polish in the lane leave a little something to be desired, she gave the Wings another shooter on the floor and often surprised opponents with her shooting prowess out on the perimeter.
She started 12 games this year for the Wings and averaged 7.4 points and 5.8 rebounds in her 22 appearances. Yueru’s contract expires at the end of this season, when she will become an exclusive rights free agent.
Injuries have been a common theme for the Wings all season. Ty Harris has been out since June 10, Maddy Siegrist missed nearly two months, Paige Bueckers has missed a handful of games and Arike Ogunbowale has missed the last three with a knee issue of her own. The team has had to sign multiple players, including Haley Jones and Grace Berger, who is currently starting at point guard in Ogunbowale’s absence, to hardship contracts just to have enough bodies to field a complete roster at times.
The Wings will miss Yueru’s production on the perimeter as well as her rebounding down the stretch. Look for Luisa Geiselsoder, Diamond Miller and Myisha Hines-Allen to play more minutes in Dallas’ final nine games.
