South Carolina Basketball: Gamecock star injured, will miss start of WNBA season

When South Carolina basketball legend and fellow All-American Angel Reese were both drafted by the Chicago Sky last month in the WNBA Draft, the women's basketball world could not wait to see them on the court together.

This was so true, in fact, that when the WNBA did not have the Sky's first preseason game against the Minnesota Lynx available on television or via streaming, hundreds of thousands of fans tuned into an iPhone live stream of the contest.

While preseason games do not count in the season standings or the players' stats, things that happen in those games do matter.

For Kamilla Cardoso, an injury suffered in her first preseason game is going to keep the #3 overall pick sidelined for a while. Cardoso took a nasty fall against the Lynx and exited the game. Originally, the injury was reported as minor, and Cardoso was described as "fine" by Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon.

However, the Chicago Sky broke the news on Monday night that Cardoso was dealing with a shoulder ailment thanks to the fall and would be re-evaluated in 4-6 weeks.

The WNBA regular season begins in less than two weeks, and the Sky's first game is May 15th. That means that Cardoso will miss the start of the season. Chicago plays eight regular season contests in the next 4 weeks, and because Cardoso is expected to be re-evaluated in 4-6 weeks, fans can expect her to miss even more than those eight games.

Cardoso was expected to be one of the top rookies in the sport this season along with her teammate Reese, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, and Los Angeles Sparks forwards Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson. Her delayed start to the year likely will put a damper on her rookie of the year chances, but if her rehab goes well, Kamilla Cardoso can still be an impact player in her first year in the W.