Breanna Stewart returns to New York Liberty lineup after missing month with bone bruise in her knee

NEW YORK (AP) – Breanna Stewart is back after missing a month with a bone bruise in her right knee.

The New York Liberty star said she’ll play on Monday night against Connecticut, marking her return after missing 13 games.

“I’m feeling good,” Stewart said to a group of reporters after shootaround Monday. “I’m going to tonight. I just want to be back with my team and I’m trying to help make things a little bit easier on all fronts and know that this is important for our playoff push and I took the time I needed and was on the training staff for the entire four weeks.”

Sabrina Ionescu, who missed Saturday’s loss against Atlanta after injuring her foot against Chicago on Thursday, also will play against the Sun.

Stewart last played on July 26 when she left a few minutes into the game against Los Angeles. The Liberty went 5-8 without their star forward to fall to fifth in the standings at 22-15.

New York started the season 9-0 before going 13-15 since when injuries started to hit the team. Jonquel Jones twice injured her right ankle and missed more than a month.

Stewart is averaging 18.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists this season. She’s also a force on the defensive end with 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks a game. Stewart told the media two weeks ago that she planned to return by her 31st birthday, which is Wednesday.

The defending champions have seven games left in the regular season.

Natasha Cloud (nose) and Isabelle Harrison (concussion protocol) are both listed as questionable for the game Monday night.