Breanna Stewart Flies Home From China With Knee Injury

NEW YORK (AP) — Breanna Stewart will return to the U.S. from China after spraining the posterior cruciate ligament in her right knee last week while playing for Shanghai in the Chinese basketball league.

The Seattle Storm star won't require surgery and is flying back Friday to rehab the injury. Her Chinese team qualified for the playoffs, which start in early February, and Stewart hopes to be back by then.

Stewart told The Associated Press in a phone interview Sunday night that her knee banged hard into the floor but that "it's nothing major."

The four-time NCAA most outstanding player at UConn was averaging 31.4 points and 10.1 rebounds in her first season in the league, helping her team finish in second place.