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Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark is unlikely to play in Tuesday night’s road game against the New York Liberty as she continues to recover from a groin injury, head coach Stephanie White said Sunday.
Clark, who suffered the injury in the closing seconds of last Tuesday’s win over Connecticut, missed the team’s final game before the All-Star break and withdrew from All-Star weekend activities, including the 3-point contest and Saturday’s game. She received treatment in Indianapolis throughout the break, but remains sidelined as the Fever prepare to return to play.
“She’s going to see some doctors and get more tests early in the week,” White said, via the Associated Press. “I don’t expect her to be available on Tuesday, so we’re just going to take it one day at a time and let her get evaluations early this week and then, once we’ve done that, hopefully we’ll have more of a clear vision of what it looks like.”
Clark has dealt with multiple muscle injuries this season and missed 10 games in the first half because of various soft tissue issues. Despite the setbacks, she’s averaging 16.5 points, 8.8 assists and five rebounds for Indiana, which entered the break at 12-11.
While Clark did not miss any games due to injury during her college career at Iowa or last season en route to WNBA Rookie of the Year honors, her first full professional season has been more physically demanding. White emphasized the importance of long-term health over short-term results.
“These soft tissue injuries, sometimes nag until you can actually have time to really allow to heal in the offseason,” she said.
Indiana, which had high expectations heading into the season, has hovered near the middle of the league standings as injuries and inconsistency have affected its rhythm. The team’s depth will be tested again in New York as Clark remains day-to-day.
