Painful result of Sophie Cunningham's injury may not be obvious

A major accolade may just be slipping through the Indiana Fever's grasp. Guard Sophie Cunningham suffered an unfortunate injury to her ankle during the team's game against the Connecticut Sun on May 30, immediately getting helped off the court and being ruled out for the Fever's next game against the Washington Mystics on June 3.

It's a big blow to not have Cunningham in the rotation given her proficiency from three point range. The Fever are struggling to get those deep shots up to start this WNBA season, and she'd help them a ton with her aggression on that end of the court. With her out, they have to rely on stretch big Damiris Dantas and forward DeWanna Bonner to produce at a similar clip.

A more understated part of Cunningham being out, though, is that it threatens to tank her ability to lead the pack for Sixth Player of the Year. She was an early season favorite for the award given her ability to be a microwave scorer off the bench for Indiana, but with her injured, she'll have to bounce back in a big way to keep making noise towards that goal.

Cunningham will need to make up ground in 6POTY race

Prior to going down with her ankle injury, Cunningham was averaging 21.8 minutes per game off the bench, where she was scoring 6.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game in those appearances. She was also shooting 36.4 from three point range, which is good for second best on the team amongst Fever players taking two or more three pointers per game.

The former Phoenix Mercury player has been known for sharp shooting for most of her career, and she's a great compliment to Indiana's bench that's missing guard depth. Aari McDonald did a wonderful job in relief of not just Cunningham, but Sydney Colson and Caitlin Clark in her first game with the Fever since signing a hardship deal, though.

READ MORE: Caitlin Clark injury update offers glimpse into return to WNBA

There's been no major updates on Cunningham's availability, but we know that Clark isn't going to be available this weekend after she spoke with media after team practice ahead of their Chicago Sky bout on Saturday.

Cunningham would be hugely helpful against Chicago, but it seems like Indiana is finally figuring out how to properly incorporate Bonner and Hull into their offense to get them up and running with their scoring. Cunningham is missed, but she can very likely get back in the 6POTY conversation by picking up where she left off through four games with the Fever.