Geno provides updates on UConn's five injured players

On Tuesday, Geno Auriemma provided updates on UConn’s five players that suffered season-ending injuries last year.

Jana El Alfy is practicing again after rupturing her achilles in July at the U19 World Cup with Egypt while Ayanna Patterson is “close” to a return following knee surgery in December.

As for Azzi Fudd (torn ACL in November), Aubrey Griffin (torn ACL in January) and Caroline Ducharme (chronic head/neck issues), they’re all working through their rehab.

“Azzi’s doing her thing trying to get back. Caroline's doing her thing trying to get herself squared away,” Auriemma said. “Aubrey’s doing her thing.”

There’s no one timetable for all five players considering the injuries happened across a span of seven months. However, the Huskies are hoping to have them all available during the upcoming season.

“Some are real close, some are still a little bit away,” Auriemma said. “But I'm optimistic that all of them are going to be good to go at some point. I'm not gonna say they're all going to be good to go in September. But they'll all be good to go at some point.”

That’s particularly notable in regards to Ducharme considering head and neck issues have limited her to just 15 games since the calendar flipped to 2023. As of now, the coach still believes there’s basketball in her future.

“I think time away really helps her and she's got all these exercises that she does and all this stuff. So I'm optimistic,” Auriemma said.

Meanwhile, Griffin told Storrs Central that her focus is on strength-building and recovery until October. Only after that will she be re-evaluated and given a better idea of when she could potentially return.

As for Fudd, she did some shooting during the team’s NCAA Tournament practices and will be around the 11-month mark of her recovery when the season begins.

One of the biggest question marks has been Patterson considering the nature of her injury. She had dealt with patellar tendinitis in her knee since high school, which limited her as a freshman and sidelined her at the start of her sophomore campaign. Before Patterson had surgery, she exhausted all options with rehab and recovery to try to get the knee right. The fact that she’s nearing a return to the court this early in the offseason is a positive sign.

As for new ailments, freshman guard Morgan Cheli is currently dealing with a hamstring issue.

“Morgan's been working out and then she did some individual workout and she had this hamstring thing back in high school, so we're kind of taking it slow with her,” Auriemma said.