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The Indiana Fever are still right in the middle of the playoff race in the WNBA with just one game to of until the All-Star break, but now they have another Caitlin Clark injury to deal with. Just a few games after the star guard returned from a groin injury, Clark appeared to re-injure that adductor on Tuesday night against the Connecticut Sun.
With less than a minute to go in a game that was already out of hand, Clark appeared to grab the groin before slowly walking to the bench and having a seat, tears welling up in her eyes. Unsurprisingly, Clark will not be out there for the second half of Indiana's back-to-back against the New York Liberty before they head into the break.
Clark will certainly be itching to play in the All-Star Game in front of her home fans in Indianapolis on Saturday night, but even that feels like a long shot at this point. As it stands, White and the Fever have not focused on when Clark could get back on the floor, according to ESPN's Alexa Philippou.
“Stephanie White said there’s been no discussion beyond tonight’s game about Caitlin Clark’s status moving forward,” Philippou reported on X, formerly Twitter before the Fever-Liberty clash. “She says the team is continuing to prioritize her long-term health.”
Clark originally missed five games with a quad injury before missing five more games with the groin problem. Now, after re-injuring that area on Tuesday night, she could potentially be looking at a much longer absence.
After Wednesday's game, the Fever don't play again until July 22 against the Liberty, so Clark has plenty of time to rest and recover. However, Indiana needs her back on the floor in order to have the best chance of making the playoffs.
Even despite that, it would be wise for the Fever not to push it. This is Clark's third soft-tissue injury in her lower body in just the last few months, so it's clear that she is worn down and vulnerable to that kind of thing at this point. While her second season has been an injury-riddled nightmare at this point, salvaging that should not come before prioritizing her long career ahead.
