UConn's latest injury: Jana El Alfy to miss 2023-24 season with torn Achilles
The UConn women's basketball program has endured a string of injuries unlike any other in college basketball over the past three years. The unfortunate run of bad luck continued on Tuesday when it was revealed that redshirt freshman Jana El Alfy will miss the entire 2023-24 season with a torn Achilles tendon.
El Alfy's injury occurred while she was competing for Egypt in her home nation's final game at the 2023 FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup in Spain. El Alfy was leading the tournament in scoring at 21.4 points per game — including a 38-point performance against Chinese Taipei — to go along with 11 rebounds per game.
El Alfy, the first UConn player to hail from Egypt, is a 6-foot-5 center who joined the Huskies this past January but did not compete in the remainder of the season. Her father, Ehab, is the head coach of the Egypt women's national team. She has been a participant in the NBA Academy Women's Program since 2019.
El Alfy has returned to Storrs and will have surgery at UConn Health Center later this week.
This news has to make Connecticut fans and program members wonder what could possibly happen next.
UConn was expecting to return to the Final Four after its streak of 14 consecutive trips to the sport's grandest stage was snapped last season with a Sweet 16 defeat to Ohio State.
Paige Bueckers, the 2021 Naismith and Wooden National Player of the Year, is expected to return from a torn ACL. Isuneh "Ice" Brady, a top-five ranked freshman in the class of 2022, is pegged to make her Connecticut debut this upcoming season after she endured a dislocated patella injury this past season. And Azzi Fudd, who missed time in both her freshman and sophomore seasons with knee and foot injuries, is looking to put together her first full season.
While the top Huskies are all in good shape at the moment, this is a program that has been severely snake bitten by injuries in recent years. El Alfy could have helped All-American Aaliyah Edwards and Brady in the post, but that's out the window now.
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter at @John_Fanta.
