Northern Mystics shooter Grace Nweke will miss 4-6 weeks of the ANZ Premiership with the knee injury suffered against Mainland Tactix last month.
Nweke, 22, left the court midway through the final quarter of the 62-59 loss - their first of the season - and subsequently missed last week's 52-47 defeat to Central Pulse.
"After undergoing a thorough assessment by our medical team, we can confirm Grace has strained the patella tendon in her right knee," said a Mystics statement. "She is continuing to follow a graduated return-to-play programme with the view to being back out on court within 4-6 weeks."
At the time she was injured, Nweke was the competition's leading scorer, shooting 140/156 at 89.7 percent accuracy.
Her absence will put the Mystics' title defence in jeopardy - they have lost both games since Nweke went down, starting Hannah Glen at goal shoot alongside Filda Vui against the Pulse.
While the new combination proved very effective through the opening two quarters, shooting 31/35, the supply of ball dried up through the second half, when they manged just 16/18.
One of the big advantages Nweke presents is a big target under goal, along with an instinctive combination with midcourt Peta Toeava.
Two years ago, the Mystics were top of the table and well on their way towards defending their 2021 crown, when they lost Nweke near the tailend of their regular season, dropped their final four games and finishing third.
Nweke returned for the elimination final, but was unable to turn around her team's fortunes, as they were eliminated by Northern Stars.
The impact of injury to Nweke was also felt by the Silver Ferns at last year's World Cup, where she suffered a knee injury in a pool game against Singapore and missed the rest of the tournament.
The defending world champions were unable to cover the loss and slumped to their worst-ever result at the event, finishing fourth.
