{"id":31771,"date":"2025-07-02T05:25:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-02T05:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/31771\/"},"modified":"2025-07-02T05:25:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T05:25:13","slug":"sparks-cameron-brink-continues-rehab-no-timeline-set-for-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/31771\/","title":{"rendered":"Sparks’ Cameron Brink continues rehab; no timeline set for return"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It has been more than a year since Cameron Brink suited up for the Sparks<\/a>, and excitement is building around the return of one of the team\u2019s biggest stars.<\/p>\n

Sidelined by a torn ACL and meniscus<\/a>, Brink has steadily progressed through drills and contact work since training camp.<\/p>\n

Head coach Lynne Roberts<\/a>, who spoke with her last week, said Brink is making significant progress and is champing at the bit to get back on the court.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no set timeline, as the team remains cautious about pushing her too hard during recovery. At this point, her return depends on when team doctors and Brink agree she\u2019s ready.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to know as much as you do about when she\u2019ll be back \u2014 and I don\u2019t,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be sooner rather than later, but soon could be a couple of weeks or it could be a month. I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dearica Hamby<\/a>, who is close with Brink, said she has seen \u201cthe commitment it takes not to give up and show up and pour into herself and her teammates \u2014 and being optimistic about getting back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mounting frustrations<\/p>\n

Through 17 games, the Sparks are 5-12 \u2014 just one win better than their start last season \u2014 but there\u2019s confidence they can eventually turn the tide with a healthier roster.<\/p>\n

Still, the process has been frustrating, not just because of the losses, but because of how many of them unfolded.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we don\u2019t show up and play collectively, with a spirit, we\u2019ll get beat,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cWe\u2019ve learned the hard way, too many times this year. Chicago was a good example \u2014 we had that game and just fell apart. Really frustrating.\u201d<\/p>\n

The return of Odyssey Sims, who missed time for personal reasons, and Julie Allemand, fresh off a EuroBasket championship, has brought renewed optimism.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of the team I signed up to coach is getting close to being back,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n

Hamby said the frustration is felt \u201cindividually and collectively, at each level \u2014 upper staff, lower staff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to take those frustrations and build off them so we can learn from them to be better,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The road ahead doesn\u2019t get easier. The Sparks now face a tough three-game trip against the defending champion New York Liberty, the Indiana Fever with a potentially returning Caitlin Clark and the WNBA-leading Minnesota Lynx.<\/p>\n

With making the playoffs still a goal, the team currently sits 11th in the standings, as the gap continues to widen between contenders and those on the outside looking in.<\/p>\n

Burrell practices<\/p>\n

Rae Burrell<\/a> is off crutches for the first time in six weeks after suffering a knee injury in the season opener.<\/p>\n

Initially given a six- to eight-week timeline for recovery, Burrell returned to practice right on schedule and has begun working toward game action. The team is easing her back now that the broken bone in her knee is fully healed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to throw her into the fire right off the bat,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cToday was her first day out there, but no contact was allowed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roberts said Burrell\u2019s reintroduction probably will move quickly based on updates from the training staff. She will travel with the team and is expected to absorb more contact starting with tomorrow\u2019s practice.
Depending on her progress, her return to the rotation could come as early as Saturday against the Fever.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s amped up,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cShe doesn\u2019t look tired like the rest of them \u2014 got bounce in her legs. She\u2019s ready to roll. So it\u2019d be good to get her back there, bringing athleticism and length to our perimeter.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It has been more than a year since Cameron Brink suited up for the Sparks, and excitement is…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":31772,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[10587,26823,26824,1910,26822,10593,1558,26821,4158,26804,4232,62,3007,6620,26820,67,132,68,232,1628],"class_list":{"0":"post-31771","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-cameron-brink","9":"tag-contact-work","10":"tag-frustration","11":"tag-game","12":"tag-last-week","13":"tag-rae-burrell","14":"tag-recovery","15":"tag-rehab","16":"tag-return","17":"tag-roberts","18":"tag-sparks","19":"tag-sports","20":"tag-team","21":"tag-time","22":"tag-timeline","23":"tag-united-states","24":"tag-unitedstates","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-wnba","27":"tag-year"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114781980099791342","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}