Sabrina Ionescu won't open the season.

Sabrina Ionescu rolled her left ankle in the Liberty's preseason finale against the Connecticut Sun on Sunday and limped to the locker room. Monday's MRI came back without major structural damage — but New York is taking no chances. The defending champs ruled her out for at least two weeks, which means she misses Friday's season opener at Barclays Center against the Sun and at minimum the Liberty's first four regular-season games.

This is the same ankle Ionescu had cleaned up in offseason surgery, the procedure she said over the winter would let her finally play "100% pain-free." She averaged 18.2 points and 6.2 assists last season en route to a championship and Finals MVP. The Liberty open against Connecticut on Friday at 7 PM ET, and head coach Sandy Brondello will lean on Leonie Fiebich and free-agent addition Emma Meesseman until Ionescu's back.

The two-week timeline is conservative on purpose. New York has been here before with ankle injuries to its star — and this team is built to win another title, not to push through April-style preseason aches in May.