WASHINGTON — The timeline for All-Defensive wing DiJonai Carrington’s return remains a mystery.
Carrington continues to rehab from ankle surgery in October and said on media day that she didn’t want to publicize a specific timeline. Since then, the Sky haven’t given so much as an inkling about when she might return to practice — whether it’s before or after the All-Star break in July or somewhere in between.
But coach Tyler Marsh pushed back on one report that said the Sky signed Carrington knowing she might not play until after the FIBA World Cup break, which runs from Aug. 31 to Sept. 16. That would leave just eight days in the regular season.
‘‘We shouldn’t believe everything that we see and read,’’ Marsh said. ‘‘We are committed to the timeline that has been established. She’s progressing well, into on-court activities. … We’re looking forward to getting her back.’’
Carrington seemed to back up Marsh. She reposted a tweet citing the report with a ‘‘cap’’ emoji — slang for ‘‘false.’’
In the meantime, the Sky are down to eight fully healthy players on their roster.
Their defense has held up through the injuries — it still ranks sixth in the league overall — but it has shown signs of sputtering, especially with rookie wing Gabriela Jaquez out with a knee injury.
They could use an infusion of the intelligence and athleticism Carrington brings on that end. Fans, however, will have to keep guessing about when that infusion will come.
For now, the primary glimpses come during the portion of practices open to the media, where Carrington typically is rehabbing and doing individual workouts.
She sprained her ankle in the playoffs last season and, after offseason surgery and rehab, had a follow-up procedure in mid-April to remove hardware from the joint.
Running on limited minutes
Forward Azura Stevens is another player the Sky would like to have at full throttle. She’s still on a minutes restriction — around 16 — and feels as though she’s still getting her legs under her after missing the first five games of the season with a bone bruise in her knee.
‘‘My body’s just getting used to the load that I’m taking on,’’ she said at the Sky’s shootaround Tuesday.
Stevens said there’s no exact science to determine her minutes; they depend on how she feels on the day of the game. If she’s feeling better, the medical team might bump them up; if not, they stay the same.
She acknowledged the challenge of finding her rhythm in spurts.
‘‘It’s really, really hard,’’ she said. ‘‘Just trying to get a flow because right when I feel like I’m getting going, I have to come out. But I understand it’s just the process right now.’’
UCLA reunion
Though Jaquez missed her third consecutive game, she at least got to have dinner with two former UCLA teammates in Mystics rookies Lauren Betts and Angela Dugalic.
Both lit up at the chance to talk about Jaquez.
‘‘Gabs is one of those players I hope I play with again someday,’’ Dugalic told the Sun-Times. ‘‘She’s so versatile. She does the little things, which end up being the big things.
‘‘She can do anything, from scoring in different ways to defending different people. She will be so tired, gasping for air, and still somehow finds a way to be the first one down the court.’’
Betts said she just misses seeing Jaquez’s face every day.
‘‘But thank God we all have phones, so we text and FaceTime all the time,’’ Betts said.
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