Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark was recently ruled out for at least two weeks after suffering a quad injury. The injury popped up during the preseason, but Clark played in the team’s first four regular-season games.
One former NFL doctor recently weighed in on he injury, and gave a different recovery timeframe.
Caitlin Clark Could Miss ‘20% of the Season’, According to Ex-NFL Doctor
Clark has been the face of women’s basketball since leading Iowa to back-to-back national championship game appearances in her final two college seasons. Indiana selected her with the first overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, and she took the league by storm in her rookie season. Clark was named Rookie of the Year after averaging 19.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 8.4 assists.
Clark missed time this preseason with a left quad injury, and the issue resurfaced early during the regular season. Head coach Stephanie White recently named veteran Sydney Colson as Clark’s replacement, but Colson could see extended time in the starting lineup.
Dr. David J. Chao broke down Clark’s injury, saying, “Yes, we cover all sports, including the WNBA, when it’s a significant issue, and superstar Caitlin Clark has a quad injury. The team says expected to miss at least two weeks. Take the over on her return. Good news is, of course, there wasn’t a particular play. Bad news is, quadriceps muscle group needed for running and jumping and unlikely to get better in two weeks.”
“Understand when a team says, ‘expecting at least two weeks,’ that’s like the airline saying your 10:07 flight is estimated to leave at 11 a.m. That’s a check back with me time. That’s not the actual departure time. An actual departure time would be 11:14 a.m.”
“This is a two-week check back with us. We expect it to be closer to a month for the WNBA superstar. That’s really significant, because the WNBA season is only 44 games. [Clark] could easily miss 20% of the season or eight games or more at this rate.
“Hopefully, she can come back quickly from this quad injury. Serious issue. No long-term worries, but certainly in the short-term, here over this next month significant worry for Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark.”
“We expect it to be closer to a month,” @profootballdoc explains why he is not buying the timeline for Caitlin Clark’s return from her quad injury.
Full analysis: https://t.co/HyzImAgG8I pic.twitter.com/wi7FNQX8fZ
— Sports Injury Central (@SICscore) May 28, 2025
Dr. Chao was the head doctor for the San Diego Chargers for 17 years. His timeframe isn’t great for Fever fans.
In four games, Clark has averaged 19.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 9.3 assists. Colson won back-to-back WNBA championships with the Las Vegas Aces, but the 2011 second-round pick hasn’t averaged more than 5.1 points in a season in her entire WNBA career.
Missing a month would make Clark unavailable for the team’s Commissioner’s Cup games, and could take Indiana out of the running for the mid-season prize.
The Fever need Clark back as soon as possible, but muscle strains can be fickle injuries. The shorter WNBA season magnifies the impact of Clark’s absence, but it’s better that she misses time now than later in the season.
