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Liz Cambage prepares to sit out WNBA season due to health concerns

Las Vegas Aces' Liz Cambage lines up a shot in a WNBA playoff basketball series in September  in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Aces' Liz Cambage lines up a shot in a WNBA playoff basketball series in September in Las Vegas. Photo: PA

Australian superstar Liz Cambage is expected to miss the upcoming WNBA season in the United States for health reasons, according to her agent.

“In the evaluation of Liz Cambage’s health and pre-existing risk factors with her team doctor, we believe her to be at high risk for severe illness if she contracts COVID-19 in participating this WNBA season,” Allison Galer told The Associated Press on Saturday night.

“We are awaiting the league’s determination based on an independent physician panel.”

Galer declined to elaborate what the pre-exisiting conditions were, citing Cambage’s privacy.

The Las Vegas Aces All-Star centre’s case is one of a handful that is before the league’s independent panel of doctors, people familiar with the situation told the AP.

The panel of physicians decide whether a player would be medically excused and receive full salary for the upcoming season, which is scheduled to start at the end of the month in Florida at IMG Academy.

Players can still opt out and skip the season if the panel does not grant them a medical waiver.

But if that was the case they would not get paid.

“We planned for 2020 to be a big year for Liz and she was excited to play with the Las Vegas Aces and compete for a championship,” Galer said.

Cambage averaged 15.9 points and 8.2 rebounds last season for the Aces – her first with the team.

Aces general manager Dan Padover seemingly confirmed Cambage won’t be part of their plans this season.

“Liz is a generational talent and we are going to miss her this season on the court and in the locker room,” Aces general manager Dan Padover said.

“She has been incredibly active this off-season in the community raising money to support first responders who battled the brush fires in Australia, continuing to shine a light on mental health awareness, and standing at the forefront of the peaceful protests in her country battling social and racial inequality, and I have no doubt that she will continue to do so this summer.”

Teams are expected to head to Florida on Monday to start quarantining before training camp opens.

About a dozen WNBA players have decided to opt out of playing this year due to a variety of reasons, including health and social advocacy.

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