Germany’s basketball players before the World Cup: Worries about Sabally and Fiebich

Bruised ribs are one of the most painful, although not the worst, things that can happen when it comes to sports injuries. Anyone who has ever thought that they would never be able to move again after a collision in the upper body area knows the agony. It hurts like hell, usually lasts a few weeks, and treatment is difficult. So you can imagine how basketball player Nyara Sabally must be feeling at the moment. The 26-year-old German international recently received an elbow to the chest from her opponent Angel Reese in the US professional league WNBA and has been missing from her club Toronto Tempo ever since.

Toronto assistant coach Olaf Lange reported that Sabally’s back was blocked, but at least nothing was broken. The center, who is having her strongest season in professional basketball to date, has to sit out a few games and watch. This is a small relief for Lange – also considering that he is also the national coach and the German women’s home World Cup begins in Berlin in a few weeks, at the beginning of September. Nevertheless, it can be said: The news that is currently being heard from the best German basketball players could be better. When Lange brings his extended squad together for preparation on August 9th, he will initially have to do without his top staff.

The WNBA is suspending league operations for the duration of the World Cup (September 4th to 13th), in which top American players such as Caitlin Clark and Breanna Stewart are also taking part. But the break only takes place shortly before the start of the tournament. Luisa Geiselsöder, Frieda Bühner (both Portland Fire), Leonie Fiebich (New York Liberty) and the Sabally sisters Nyara and Satou (also Liberty), who are employed in the USA, are planned as last-minute additions to the German team – if everything goes smoothly. Because it’s not just scheduling bottlenecks that make the initial situation difficult, but for some people there are also health issues. Nyara Sabally’s rib injury is not the most serious injury. Fiebich and Satou Sabally have also been exempt from sport for a long time – the two who are supposed to be the faces of the home tournament.

German women’s basketball has developed very well in recent years, at least as far as the quality of the national team is concerned, in line with the men’s. The best example is the 2024 Olympic gold medal in the 3×3 version. What is missing are successes at full court level: the DBB men (world and European champions) have raised expectations in this regard. The Berlin Women’s World Cup will now serve as a showcase for the current generation of players. This is what association boss Ingo Weiss anticipated when the DBB applied to host the event in 2023: “Now it’s the ladies’ turn.” And they have boldly announced that they are aiming for a medal in the capital in late summer. “This dream is no secret,” explained center Luisa Geiselsöder recently in a Magentasport podcast. The goal is demanding, but justifiable given the competition from the USA, France and Australia – provided we have the best possible cast.

However, it is unclear whether Coach Lange will be able to send the best onto the field in his hometown in September. Fiebich has been suffering from an injury to her left foot for almost a month. The 26-year-old landed incorrectly in a league game and has only been able to train subtly since then. She recently declined to reveal an exact diagnosis to reporters in New York. She seemed annoyed by the slow healing process; after all, as a patient she was “not patient at all”. Things are getting better, but “worries” about her participation in the World Cup are real, said the Landsberg native. Fiebich has repeatedly emphasized that for her, performing with the eagle on her chest is the greatest and most emotional thing of all. A World Cup in her own country would be the next career highlight for her after the 2024 Olympics and the WNBA Championship in the same year.

This also applies to Satou Sabally, who grew up in Berlin and recently took a break from the DBB selection in order to concentrate her strengths in view of the long-awaited World Cup. She hasn’t always been fit recently either: in 2024 she underwent complicated shoulder surgery, and last year she suffered a concussion at the end of an almost triumphant WNBA season (final defeat against Las Vegas). And exactly this injury was repeated after she moved to Fiebich’s side to the New York Liberty. Four weeks ago, an opponent hit her in the head while struggling for a rebound, and since then the 28-year-old has been in the league’s so-called “concussion protocol” again. From there, according to the rules, you only go back to training when all symptoms have disappeared. The return takes place gradually: with drills and throwing units without direct duels until the club doctors finally clear you for the competition.

It is therefore possible that Sabally’s return will be delayed because she is a repeat patient; a so-called “second impact syndrome” can even have long-term consequences. People around her say that Sabally is not currently accepting any interview requests and that there is no timetable for when she will be active on the field again. Recovery comes first. When asked, the German Basketball Association was unable to provide any further details; they simply said that “there is currently no reason not to expect your participation.” How does the DBB want to predict it otherwise? A big break at home in Berlin without Fiebich or Satou Sabally? That would probably be more painful for German basketball than any bruised ribs.