Paige Bueckers leaves fans in awe after showing up to practice despite knee injury: "Don't let Geno see this","Someone tell this girl to rest"

Geno Auriemma joked Paige Bueckers' absence resulted in a smooth practice on Tuesday. However, UConn Huskies' latest Instagram post features the star guard in action. The video showcases Bueckers banking a half-court shot next to Jana El-Alfy with Azzi Fudd photo-bombing the sequence.

Bueckers suffered a lower body sprain in the 83-52 win against Villanova on Sunday, keeping her out of games on a day-to-day basis. She collided with Jasmine Bascoe while battling for a loose ball.

Fans rushed to the comment section to joke around Geno Auriemma and Paige Bueckers' dynamics:

"Don’t let Geno see this 😭," a fan wrote.

"Someone tell this girl to rest 😭," another fan commented.

"She just can’t sit down can she," another fan wrote.

More Huskies fans reacted to the post:

"I see Paige snuck back on after being banned from practice 😂😂😂😂 basketball gods please protect Geno's temper and all 5th years from any others injuries....," a fan commented.

"Someone gets this girl off the court and into a bed so she can rest that knee," another fan wrote.

"Geno… she snuck in againnnnn🙄," another fan commented.

Fans react as Paige Bueckers' sneaks into UConn practice

Paige Bueckers was also seen stretching and hanging around her teammates as the Huskies warmed up to play the Xavier Musketeers.

Geno Auriemma reflects on criticism around Paige Bueckers injury

Jasmine Bascoe's collision with the Huskies star guard has garnered significant criticism from college hoops fans on social media, questioning the Villanova player's intentions.

However, Geno Auriemma cleared the air around the play while speaking to media on Tuesday. While he acknowledged the fans' spirits and reasoning, he claimed that the injury occurred purely in the heat of the game.

"It's in the heat of the moment," Auriemma said (3:19). "So, if you look back at it and you probably watched the video, you would go, 'Who had the best access to that ball?' But, kids are kids you know, and they wanna win and they want to play hard. So, from what I could see, I didn't see anything other than a basketball play."

Huskies dominated their first contest without Paige Buekers on Wednesday, defeating the Musketeers 81-27. Azzi Fudd led the squad with a season-high 23 points.