The Indiana Fever are coming off a tight 111-109 loss to the Phoenix Mercury from Wednesday night, and they’re now gearing up for their clash against the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday, June 27.
Unfortunately, the team will be without one of its leading scorers Caitlin Clark after she suffered an injury during her latest matchup.
Caitlin Clark’s Status Ahead of the Fever-Sparks Clash
As detailed in the 24-year-old’s injury report, Clark is out due to a back injury. She will not be appearing in Saturday’s matchup against Los Angeles.
Following the injury, Indiana’s head coach Stephanie White spoke with the media regarding Clark’s status.
“She’s okay, she’s going to be out on Saturday, but she’s doing alright,” said White.
When asked about her return date, White responded, “No indication, obviously it’s a good time because we have all week next week, so we’ll take this opportunity to get her treatment, get her healthy, get her back on the floor and see what happens. It’s the same thing; long-term health and wellness is the most important thing.”
White added, “Again, we want her to be healthy physically, mentally and emotionally, all the things. I think it’s important to remember when you’ve gone through injury and the traumatic aspect of injury, especially that she had last year, it’s ups and downs, physically, mentally and emotionally, and making sure that she’s 100% ready to go is the most important thing and her taking care of that is a priority for us.”
Before injuring her back, Clark was averaging 21.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game, while shooting 43.0% from the floor. She is the second-highest leading scorer for the Fever, trailing 30-year-old Kelsey Mitchell, who averages 21.4 points per game.
Clark is now in her third year of playing in the WNBA, and she continues to serve as one of the primary faces in the league. When she kicked off her professional career, the WNBA’s viewership skyrocketed.
Fortunately, White doesn’t appear to be too alarmed by Clark’s injury at this time. Ideally, she will be able to use this coming week as a time for much-needed rest and recovery.
Once Saturday’s game wraps up, Indiana’s next matchup isn’t scheduled until Sunday, July 5, when they take on the Las Vegas Aces at T-Mobile Arena.
In the meantime, the Fever will need to navigate their clash against the Sparks without Clark on the court. Her teammates will need to plug the gaps.
