The return of Caitlin Clark from her groin ailment remains uncertain.
Indiana Fever’s leading coach, Stephanie White, informed journalists on Sunday that the Fever’s main player is unlikely to participate when the team resumes its season on Tuesday and that she will undergo further evaluations, according to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou. White stated that the team aims to have a clearer timeline after the evaluations.
From ESPN:
“I believe she is improving,” White mentioned. “I think that we’re continuing to address everything that needs attention. … I don’t foresee her playing on Tuesday, so we’ll continue to assess her daily and allow her to get her evaluations early this week.”
Clark has been sidelined since exacerbating her groin ailment last Tuesday, which is the latest setback in a disappointing season for the WNBA’s greatest ratings magnet. She previously missed five games between May and June due to a quad issue, followed by four games with the initial groin injury in late June.
The recent injury prevented her from participating in both the WNBA All-Star Game and the 3-point contest, where she was expected to be a major draw. The Fever hosted the All-Star events for the first time in the franchise’s 26-year history, and Clark’s image was displayed throughout Indianapolis.
Without its main player Sabou Sabally, Team Clark was defeated by Team Collier in the All-Star Game. New York Liberty player Sabrina Ionescu won the 3-point contest.
With a record of 12-11, the Fever is currently in sixth place in the WNBA standings, but is only one and a half games away from falling out of the eight-team playoff bracket entirely. Indiana ended the league’s longest playoff drought last year during Clark’s memorable rookie season, but was hoping to make significant progress this year after acquiring experienced players such as Natasha Howard, Sophie Cunningham, and DeWanna Bonner (although not all of them performed as expected).
It is difficult to envision a significant playoff push for the Fever without Clark at full strength, and we should gain a clearer understanding of how realistic that is after her evaluations this week.
