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Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark will miss her eighth consecutive game with a right groin injury Tuesday when her team takes on Kelsey Plum and the red-hot Los Angeles Sparks. Clark, who was injured late in the Fever’s win over the Connecticut Sun on July 15, does not have an official return timeline.
The Fever released an update on July 24 saying that Clark “underwent further medical evaluations earlier this week, which confirmed that no additional injuries or damage were discovered.” The team added that Clark will “continue working with the medical team on her recovery and rehabilitation, with the priority on her long-term health and well-being.”
Fever coach Stephanie White made an appearance on ESPN’s NBA Today on Monday and said that the team is taking it slow with Clark’s recovery process.
“It’s day-to-day right now, we’re putting no timetable on it,” White said. “[She is] going through the rehab process, and then we want to reintegrate her from a strength and conditioning standpoint and then get her back to basketball activities. So we’re taking it one day at a time, really slow rolling it, slow playing it this time… The most important thing for us is Caitlin’s long-term health and getting her back to 100% before we put her back on the floor.”
Following Tuesday’s contest, the Fever will conclude their four-game road trip to begin August with a matchup against DeWanna Bonner and the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday. They’ll then return to Indianapolis for a three-game homestand that begins on Saturday against the Chicago Sky.
After a historic Rookie of the Year season, Clark’s sophomore campaign has been derailed by injuries. She’s been limited to 13 appearances due to a left quad strain that kept her out for three weeks, a left groin injury that sidelined her for two weeks and now a right groin injury. Along the way, she’s missed out on the Commissioner’s Cup championship and All-Star weekend in her adopted home city of Indianapolis.
Caitlin Clark explains how injuries have affected her: ‘First time I haven’t felt like a young body’
Spending so much time on the training table is a new experience for Clark, who prior to this season had not missed a game due to injury since she was in high school.
“This is the first time I haven’t felt like a young body that can run around and sprint every day and just continue to do that,” Clark told Glamour over All-Star weekend. “Being a professional athlete, you really have to take care of both your body and your mind — it’s been a journey learning about that.”
When Clark has been able to get on the floor, she’s struggled to find the form that made her an All-WNBA First Team honoree last season. Aside from a triple-double in the Fever’s season opener and a 32-point, eight-rebound, nine-assist effort in her return from her first injury, most of the discussion about Clark’s on-court performance has centered around her lengthy shooting slump.
Clark is 7 of 49 from 3-point range in her last seven appearances, and has failed to make a 3-pointer in three separate games. For the season, she’s shooting 36.7% from the field, including 27.9% from behind the arc. Notably, she is 2 of 35 from downtown on the road. Despite her poor shooting, Clark is still putting up 16.5 points, five rebounds and 8.8 assists per game — good for second in the league.
The 17-12 Fever struggled mightily without Clark earlier in the season, but have won five games in a row without her entering Tuesday to climb into fifth place in the standings. They are now closer to second (1 ½ games behind the New York Liberty) than they are to ninth (3 ½ games ahead of the Washington Mystics). This hot streak has ensured that the Fever can give Clark all the time she needs to recover.
