Connecticut Sun guard Bria Hartley ruled out for 2025 season with meniscus tear amidst backlash from Sophie Cunningham’s family

The Connecticut Sun announced on Sunday that guard Bria Hartley will miss the rest of the season due to a meniscus tear she sustained in her right knee. With five games left in their schedule, the Sun are out of the running for the postseason.

However, Hartley is anticipated to fully recover. She has played 38 games for Connecticut this season and averaged 8.9 points and 3.1 assists.

Bria Hartley is expected to make full recovery after right knee meniscus tear ends her 2025 season

The Connecticut Sun guard Bria Hartley suffered a meniscus tear in her right knee, which will keep her out of action for the rest of the 2025 campaign. However, it is anticipated that she will fully recover.Before the Sun's matchup with the Atlanta Dream on Monday, September 1, she suffered the injury during a practice session. Additionally, she will be sidelined for the remainder of the current campaign. The official post of the team read: “After further evaluation from medical staff, Bria is expected to make a full recovery but will miss the remainder of the 2025 season.

Additional updates will be provided as appropriate. We are wishing Bria the very best in her recovery process.”

This season was the UConn product's comeback to the WNBA after a three-year hiatus. Before playing for Galatasaray in the Turkish Super League in 2023–24, she came back from an ACL injury and played in Spain.Now, she will not play the rest of the season. Additionally, the severity of the injuries also determines for how long she needs to recover.

However, she should be back for the next season. Meanwhile, she also received criticism when she collided with Sophie Cunningham of Indiana Fever during this month. Additionally, even though Soph didn’t blame her, her family called her "disgruntled" and "mean."

Sophie Cunningham defends Bria Hartley and shuts down claims of intentional foul

Last month, Bria Hartley faced criticism after she lost her balance during the second quarter and collided with Sophie Cunningham. She was then unable to support her leg and had to exit the court. She later disclosed that she would miss the rest of the season due to an MCL tear. In the meantime, one image that went popular online led some people to wonder if Bria had purposely injured her. Days later, the WNBA player recently talked about whether or not she thought Bria Hartley had fallen on her knee on purpose.

On the Show Me Something podcast, she clarified that she did not hold Hartley responsible for the injury, stating that the two were "really good friends." She discussed the same and said: “I know Bria, and I’m actually really good friends with Bria… I don’t think that there [wasn’t any] ill intent.. I think it was a basketball play, I was just in the front spot at the wrong time, she fell.. I have nothing but love for Bria… Bria and I are super cool, and she would never try to hurt me…” Meanwhile, both Bria and Soph are expected to make a quick comeback. Also read: Did Bria Hartley intentionally injure Sophie Cunningham? WNBA pro responds to allegations following a season-ending injury