The Toronto Tempo's inaugural season continues to be marred by injuries.
The expansion franchise announced on Sunday that guard Brittney Sykes (foot) and forward Aneesah Morrow (knee) have been ruled out for the remainder of the 2026 season due to injuries.
Sykes, 32, had recently returned from an 18-game absence due to a plantar fascia foot injury suffered June 16 against the Indiana Fever. She made just two appearances in her comeback bid before re-aggravating the injury in the Tempo's win against the Portland Fire in Vancouver on Friday. Sykes played less than two minutes in that game before rushing off the court after being called for a foul and missing the rest of the contest because of the injury.
Toronto signed Sykes to a two-year, $2.38 million deal in the off-season, making the one-time all-star one of the WNBA's first million-dollar players. But her first season as the franchise's floor general comes to an abrupt end after averaging a career-high 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals through 20 appearances.
As for Morrow, she joined the Tempo at the end of July in a deadline deal with the Connecticut Sun. The seventh-overall pick in 2025 was also injured during Friday's matchup against the Fire, colliding with Portland's Emily Engstler while trying to contest a layup. Morrow was down in pain for some time before she was helped off the court while not putting any weight on her legs.
The 23-year-old made seven appearances with Toronto after the trade, averaging 9.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 19.4 minutes in that span. For the season, Morrow averaged 11.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists through 27 games (10 starts) split between the Sun and Tempo.
Neither Sykes nor Morrow will require surgery for their injuries and both are expected to make full recoveries, though not before the end of the regular-season.
Toronto has had to navigate injuries all season, especially in the frontcourt with players like Isabelle Harrison, Temi Fagbenle and Nyara Sabally all missing extended periods throughout the year. All the while, this year's No. 6 pick Kiki Rice also missed 16 games with an ankle injury.
The Tempo enter Sunday's matchup against the defending champion Las Vegas Aces down five players, with Sykes, Morrow, Sabally (calf), Marina Mabrey (adductor) and Maria Conde (calf) all ruled out. Toronto will have seven rostered players available and two developmental players.
Despite the laundry list of injuries, Brondello told reporters on Sunday the league informed her that the Tempo would not be eligible for a hardship player exception if applied on the basis of either Sykes or Morrow's injuries because the recovery timelines for both players are expected to exceed the end of the WNBA season.
As for Mabrey specifically, Brondello says the 29-year-old all-star will be evaluated "in a few weeks," and is unsure whether she'll play again this season.
All of which has led to the Tempo being eliminated from playoff contention in Year 1, with a month remaining in the regular season. As things stand, the Tempo own the third-worst record in the WNBA and are second in the reverse standings, holding a 24 per cent chance at securing the No. 1 overall pick in 2027 through the draft lottery.
— With files from Canadian Press