University of Connecticut basketball star Paige Bueckers said she’s relying on her faith as she recovers from an ACL injury that will keep the All-American player benched for a season.
Thankfully, Beuckers’ ACL surgery went well and she has started rehab, The Spun reported.
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The junior guard missed 19 games of her sophomore season after suffering a knee injury to the same leg late last year, according to Sports Spectrum. She returned to lead the Huskies to the national championship game, which they lost to South Carolina.
Last Monday, the star athlete tore her ACL during a pickup game.
Although she’s certainly disappointed, the Minnesota native said she is confident God is using her injury for good, a nod to Romans 8:28, which reads, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
“It’s so, so crazy because you work so hard to get back healthy, you feel stronger than ever, and you are playing your best basketball, and with one sudden movement, it all shifts,” Beuckers wrote in an Instagram post. “It’s hard trying to make sense of it all now, but I can’t help but think that God is using me as a testimony as to how much you can overcome with Him by your side.”
Her team’s head coach, Geno Auriemma, said he and the team were “devastated” by Beuckers’ injury.
“She’s worked really hard to get stronger and healthier this offseason, and this is an unfortunate setback,” he said. “Paige is obviously an amazing basketball player but she’s a better person and teammate and it’s really unfortunate that this has happened to her. We’ll miss her presence on the court, but she’ll do everything she can to still lead and help her teammates this season. Our program will support Paige through her healing process to help her come back better and stronger.”
Beuckers, for her part, is confident she will soon return.
“My absolute love for the game and godly strength will get me back to where I need to be,” she wrote. “I’ve worked too hard for the little kid in these pictures to keep going for the dreams I’ve had since I first picked up the ball, so why would I stop now? The prayers and love means so much to me, and the doubts that I won’t get back to where I was might mean even more. God put a dream in my heart, and even if I have to walk through a nightmare to get it, I’m going to keep believing.”
In a new post published after her surgery, Bueckers shared a simple but powerful message: “God is GREAT… Let’s get it.”
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