When Sophie Cunningham posted on Instagram stories that she “could’ve just kicked everyone in the face” during a brutal rehab session, the remark wasn’t a throwaway line.
It was a raw admission of how grueling the comeback trail has become for the veteran guard, who is sidelined after a torn medial collateral ligament.
In August, the Indiana Fever announced Cunningham would miss the rest of the 2025 season following the injury sustained in a game against the Connecticut Sun.
At 29, this is the first time in her WNBA career that she enters unrestricted free agency while rehabbing rather than playing, and the emotional weight shows.
Cunningham‘s rehab update arrived this week when she detailed how a “normal” knee-rehab day crawled through 30 reps, then 15, 15, 15, four sets of every exercise, and every one of them kicked her.
“It was rough. I need to go take a 10-hour nap and go lay by the pool. But I can’t. I have a huge, busy day today, this is great,” she said.
What makes it especially striking is the contrast: just weeks earlier, she wrote she “did shoot today for the first time.” The small victory lights up the long process ahead.
Learning humility and patience in recovery
Cunningham‘s path has always included peaks: at Phoenix Mercury she developed into a reliable two-way wing, earning her the 13th overall pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft after starring at the Missouri Tigers.
Her move to Indiana in 2025 was intended as a fresh chapter. Instead, it turned into a test of mental steel.
Rehab is physical and monotonous, but the mental side is less talked about. For Cunningham, the day-to-day battle already feels like the hardest match she’s played.
The Instagram stories and posts peel back the veneer of pro-athlete stoicism, showing an elite player contending with the boredom, frustration, and impatience of waiting.
“Sometimes, BFR is so easy, and I can breeze right through it … today, oh my gosh,” she said, referring to blood-flow restriction techniques used in rehab workouts.
There’s no guarantee she’ll hit the court again at the same intensity, but the public crack in her guard shows how respect for the unknown can come with time.
Her injury came in a group of already injured Fever guards: with Caitlin Clark sidelined by a groin issue and other rotation players down, Indiana has become well-versed in adversity.
Cunningham‘s attempt to return is part of the club’s broader narrative of resilience.
Cunningham is open about the process. Her social-media admissions speak to a new kind of vulnerability among high-level athletes.
The knee rehab workout that left her thinking about “cutting my leg off real quick” isn’t a metaphor. It’s a momentary escape from the pain and repetition.
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