DiJonai Carrington Set for Chicago Sky Debut After Injury

Most of the 2026 WNBA season has been a period of anticipation for DiJonai Carrington. After over three months off the court, she is ready to make her debut for the Chicago Sky. Carrington resumed full practice this week, having missed the first 27 games due to a left foot sprain from last season’s injury carried into free agency.

Currently classified as a game-day decision, Carrington’s debut might be as soon as Thursday against the Connecticut Sun. Reflecting on her time off, she said, “I learned a lot about myself and my resiliency. I’m just proud of myself. I went through a lot over this last year and to be close to getting back out on the floor is surreal.”

After incurring the sprain during the 2025 playoffs, Carrington had surgery in October and again in April to remove hardware from her foot. Her three-month rehabilitation aligned her return post-All-Star break. The Sky’s upcoming five-game home stretch presents an ideal opportunity for Carrington’s reintegration. During this pause, she completed full-court scrimmages with teammates, marking a key step before her court return.

“Obviously when they’re playing games every other day, I’m not going to be like, ‘All right I need nine of y’all to come play five-on-five full court with me after practice,” Carrington joked.

Her recovery faced challenges due to the absence of a single Sky training site. Promised new facilities in Bedford Park were delayed, forcing the team to cobble practice spaces at UIC, Loyola, and Wintrust Arena. Despite no fixed date for the new facility, Carrington learned to adapt, saying, “You can’t use that as an excuse. Nobody cares. Honestly, I wouldn’t care if it was happening to somebody else on another team. You just have to show up, figure it out, find a way to do the things that you need to do. It hasn’t been ideal but that’s how life goes sometimes, you know?”

With a one-year deal, Carrington was expected to be unavailable until late in the season, not before the All-Star break and possibly as late as August or September. Her timely recovery offers an optimistic return date, yet presents a challenge for coach Tyler Marsh, who is experienced with integrating midseason returns.

The Sky faced early-season struggles with Carrington, Courtney Vandersloot, and Azurá Stevens sidelined. Stevens and Vandersloot have both returned, stirring roster roles. Vandersloot’s return relegated Skylar Diggins to a secondary position, who has remained off the court due to a knee injury. Now, Carrington joins this complex backcourt as the Sky aim to rally in the latter part of the season.

“It’s an adjustment, but it’s an adjustment that we’ve had to face multiple times this year,” Marsh commented. “It is tough. It changes things across the board a little bit, just in how you manage those minutes, but we have a flexible team. We have an unselfish team. The team knows the capabilities that DiJonai brings and obviously the communication has been there in terms of how big a piece we anticipated her being upon her return coming into this season. We’ll figure it out as a unit and as a staff.”

Currently, Carrington is redirecting her focus to basketball. In her initial games, she plans to depend on existing bonds with teammates like Natasha Cloud and Vandersloot, alongside whom she has played in offseason leagues such as Athletes Unlimited and Unrivaled.

While feeling a tinge of anxiety before her court return, Carrington remains eager to rejoin the action, whether against Connecticut, Las Vegas, or in upcoming games during the homestand. “When I feel good, I’m not ducking no smoke,” Carrington declared. “I’m going to get back out there.”