Jacksonville, FL -- Forward DeLisha "Sunshine" Milton-Jones has a torn anterior cruciate ligament, which could prevent her from participating in the 2004 Olympics.

Milton-Jones, a member of the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks, was recently selected to play for the USA Women's Basketball Team. She was injured practicing for a three-game exhibition series, which begins Monday against the Cuban National Team.

"I'm going to stay positive and I'm not going to be pessimistic," said Milton- Jones. "I'm planning on getting this taken care of as soon as possible so that I can get back on the court this summer. I worked too long and hard not to be a part of this team and I'm going to work even harder to come back. I wish my teammates the best of luck in Cuba. Everyone worked very hard last week and I know they're going to give Cuba three really good games."

Milton-Jones, a 6-1, 175-pounder, averaged 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per contest in helping the American women win the gold medal at the 2000 Olympics. She will not travel with the U.S. squad to Cuba and is expected to return to Los Angeles for further evaluation.

"I don't think there's any doubt that losing DeLisha, right before going to Cuba, is a tough blow for this team," said USA and Houston Comets head coach Van Chancellor. "She has been excellent in this training camp, she's shown tremendous enthusiasm and hustle. I was just calling her ‘The Hawk' Sunday on our press because she makes our press look so good. We're going to miss her this week when we face Cuba, which has a tremendous team."