The injury to Grace Egan was shocking as she disappeared from the lineup and from the sidelines.It was revealed that she had a scary back injury, with no feeling in her legs, and that she had a trip to the hospital. Egan was fearful that something serious was going on, and now, just weeks later, she's already looking about ready to return. The news continues to get better and better.
Who knows how close she actually is, but there's been a ton of great news coming out about her. First, earlier this week, she posted on Instagram a picture of herself wearing knee pads with the "eyes" emoji. The emoji is typically used for "look," "keep an eye out," or "whoa."
The next update came from Kelly Sheffield, who said to Jon Arias on the Kelly Sheffield Show, "Everything is pointing toward her being back at some point this year." That's huge news and pretty shocking considering what Egan was going through. And then, the best news of the week was when she showed up in uniform and was going through warmups ahead of Maryland.
Grace Egan is in uniform and participating in warmups ahead of the #Badgers' match against Maryland.
— John Steppe (@JSteppe1) October 16, 2026
Encouraging sign as she continues to recover from her back injury.
In other injury news, Madison Quest has a walking boot and is not in uniform.
Wisconsin may be getting Grace Egan back sooner rather than later, and that's great news
Related: 3 things Kelly Sheffield wants to see as the Big Ten schedule eases up for Wisconsin
Egan is one of the top players on one of the top teams. She has the ability to be not only a veteran presence but also a key outside hitter. She has the versatility to play both pins and even attack from the back row. The Badgers could really use her back on the court, but only when she's fully ready.
The other part of the above news is related to Madison Quest. There was no mention of an injury to Quest before she was noticed on the sideline with a walking boot. That's a significant development and something that Kelly Sheffield will hopefully answer post-match.
The Badgers have battled all sorts of different injuries this season and have had multiple players down at various points. The two biggest injuries came from Jaela Auguste and Grace Egan. Auguste has been back for a couple of weeks, and it appears that Egan is going to be close to returning.
The good news for Sheffield and the Badgers is that Wisconsin is headed into a section of the Big Ten play where they won't need to force Egan back into the lineup (not that Sheffield would anyway, because he's a very cautious coach with injuries). There won't be pressure, though, as the next few matches are all against unranked opponents and shouldn't present huge difficulties.
The Badgers made it through the tough stretch of the Big Ten schedule with their only loss to Nebraska. They now play Maryland, Iowa, No. 20 Washington, Michigan, and USC. There could be a couple of tests in there, but it's far different than the six straight ranked games to begin Big Ten play.
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