The Phoenix Mercury have been one of the more disappointing teams of the 2023 WNBA season so far. Although they have been navigating the absence of starting point guard Skylar Diggins-Smith who is currently out on maternity, they have enough talent on the team to make some noise. They began the season on an emotional high with the return of Brittney Griner, but have since managed only a 2-6 record and are near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. They got hit with some bad news on Thursday as Brittney Griner appeared on the Mercury injury report as doubtful for Friday's game against the Washington Mystics as per Kareem Copeland of The Washington Post.

Brittney Griner first suffered the hip injury during the Mercury's loss to the Seattle Storm on Tuesday. She left the game early and did not play in the second half. She only played nine minutes and finished with two points and two rebounds.

Griner has been the Mercury's best player through the first eight games of the season as she made her return to the court. She has been averaging a team-high 20.1 points per game, 6.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.5 blocked shots with splits of 62.4 percent shooting from the field, 25 percent shooting from the three-point line and 83 percent shooting from the free-throw line. Griner's field goal percentage is a career-high.

The Mercury obviously still have time to turn things around and try and make a solid playoff push. They will need Griner to do so, however. Fans will definitely be hoping that her appearance on the Mercury injury report will be short-lived.