Mercury G Skylar Diggins-Smith out for regular season

8/11/2022 1:53:06 PM EST

Phoenix Mercury leading scorer Skylar Diggins-Smith will miss the final two games of the regular season.

The team confirmed Thursday that the six-time All-Star guard is out for personal reasons.

The Mercury, fighting for a playoff spot, plan to sign a replacement player ahead of Friday night's home game against the Dallas Wings.

Diggins-Smith missed the past two games, sitting out last Saturday's win over the New York Liberty with a non-COVID illness and missing Wednesday's loss to the Minnesota Lynx for personal reasons.

The Mercury, who already are without guard Diana Taurasi (quad strain) for the stretch run, are battling four other teams for the final two playoff spots. The regular season ends Sunday with Phoenix hosting the Chicago Sky.

Coach Vanessa Nygaard said the team was prepared to proceed without Diggins-Smith.

"We're just one day at a time moving forward. We've seen everything this year, so whatever gets thrown at us, we're ready to just lace them up and go," she said, according to ESPN.

"It's such an honor and a privilege to play this game and we're so blessed every day that we get to go out and play in front of our great fans. So whoever we have available is going to come out and battle for our team. We still have fight, and we're going to be ready to go. That's what our fans deserve."

Diggins-Smith, 32, is averaging 19.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and a team-high 5.5 assists in 30 starts this season, her third year with Phoenix and her ninth in the WNBA.

--Field Level Media

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