Fans might be excited for the 2026 season, but a few players are yet to recover completely. Fans are even confused about an update on DiJonai Carrington’s health, with another operation hinting at ‘removal of hardware.’ Luckily, that’s not the case for the New York Liberty’s newest acquisition, Satou Sabally.
The player was inactive for the whole of the season, creating suspense around her possible return date. Coach Chris DeMarco provides an update on her fitness and discusses her availability for the game against the Indiana Fever.
Satou Sabally To Miss Game Against Indiana Fever
One of the biggest movements in the free agency market was the addition of a former Mercury star to the Liberty franchise. The franchise now has four All-Stars to start the game, and hands them a top position in the top five starting lineups in the 2026 season.
While the team looks like a formidable force on paper, they struggled with injuries in the 2025 season, and it seems that the old nemesis is still haunting them as coach Demarco hinted at the questionable status of Sabally’s availability for the first pre-season game against the Fever.
Rebecca Allen and Marine Fauthoux (reconditioning) will not play tomorrow's New York Liberty preseason game
— Geoff Magliocchetti (@GeoffJMags) April 24, 2026
Satou Sabally is QUESTIONABLE#WNBA #LightItUpNYL
In his statement, the coach said, “I wouldn’t say she’s not at 100 percent. We just have to be cautious as we move toward this thing. We know we have two preseason games, we know we have that long road trip in Portland and we have some time, so we just want to make sure everybody feels good.”
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“She looks good. Obviously, we’re doing everything for October, and we want to be smart and we’re doing that with all of our players. So we’ll see how it looks tomorrow, if she’s going to play. But she’s been fantastic. She can handle the ball, she’s good (at) setting screens and driving. She’s a good teammate, good team defender so we’ve been really impressed so far,” DeMarco added.
Also, she won’t be the only absentee in the game. As per the update, Rebecca Allen and Marine Fauthoux will also miss the opening fixture in the 2026 calendar year. The franchise is priortizing the healthy return for all its stars for the season, and the 30-year-old forward will be the most impactful star of them all.
Satou Sabally Could Be Key To Liberty’s Success
One of the key attributes of the franchise’s new addition is her ability to deliver on both ends of the floor. Combining well with Alyssa Thomas at the Mercury team, the forward showed her versatility and ease of operation in the newer system.
2026 potential starting lineup for the New York Liberty:
— Liberty Lead (@LibertyLeadSM) April 11, 2026
PG – Sabrina Ionescu
SG – Leonie Fiebich
SF – Satou Sabally
PF – Breanna Stewart
C – Jonquel Jones
Is the league in trouble? pic.twitter.com/2NamWRkkLa
She won’t take time to settle into the Liberty system, as she knows the starters well and also played with Leonie Fiebich, as both play for the German national team.
Having a player capable of filling in any position in the forward line would be a massive edge to the side and also the decisive factor in the game. Adding elite scoring, versatility, and crucial “unicorn” size to an already stacked lineup. Following a finals run with the Mercury team, where Satou Sabally averaged 16.3 points, Sabally will address the Liberty’s need for secondary scoring and playmaking.