Aliyah Boston underwent surgery on Wednesday to repair the lateral meniscus in her right knee, the Indiana Fever announced on Thursday. The surgery was performed by Dr. Corey Kendall at OrthoIndy.
“Boston will begin the rehabilitation process with the Fever’s medical and performance team, and further updates will be provided as they become available,” the team said.
She sustained the injury in late February while playing at Unrivaled — and it was something she knew she’d have to deal with until a break in her schedule.
Boston had five points and five rebounds in just over 12 minutes on Feb. 27, her final game of her second season at Unrivaled, the Miami-based 3x3 league. Her team, Phantom, beat Lexie Hull’s team, Rose, 72-68.
She did not play the following week in the semifinals against Vinyl or the championship game against Mist due to what the league described as a “right lower extremity” injury.
And just imagine how much a player must be hurting to sit out of a championship game.
Boston did, though, and Phantom lost to Mist 80-76. Mist outrebounded Phantom and shot 56% from the field. Boston’s interior presence was certainly missed.
Boston stayed with her team through the finals, then returned to Indianapolis for a full evaluation. Throughout the WNBA season, the Fever officially described it as a “right lower leg” injury.
But as I reported on here, more than seven months ago, the injury was specifically to her right knee. “The injury is to the meniscus in her right knee and treatment is underway. For now, surgery is not required.”
The knee injury caused her to withdraw from playing with USA Basketball in the FIBA Women's World Cup qualifying tournament in March. And it caused her to miss four of 44 regular-season games this past WNBA season.
After the season, Boston opened up about the challenges of playing through the injury.
“I definitely started the year with a lot of uncertainty,” Boston said during a three-minute exit interview. “I think there were definitely some games where I was hindered a little bit, and then obviously, we know I missed some games.
“So it definitely was a change for me, because I’m somebody that just loves to compete and love to play, and I never like to sit out. So it definitely had its impact, but we made it through a full season, so I’m always grateful.”
Exit interviews include meeting with the training staff for a full evaluation. A procedure was expected.
“We’ll be talking and seeing what we want to do from there,” Boston said, “but nothing’s decided yet.”
The decision ultimately led to surgery on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
An important distinction: The procedure was a meniscus repair, not a removal.
