Caitlin Clark suffered a back injury against the Phoenix Mercury on June 24 and missed the last two weeks of action. The Indiana Fever guard absorbed hard hits during a physically demanding contest, and the resulting back issue sidelined her for multiple games.
Having practiced with the team on Tuesday in Los Angeles, Clark offered the latest update on her return timeline, and Fever fans are feeling optimistic.
Fever Star Caitlin Clark’s Injury Update Suggests Imminent Return
Before the injury halted her campaign, Clark helped run head coach Stephanie White’s offense. She averaged 21.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game through her first 17 appearances.
After missing two consecutive games from a back injury, Clark had encouraging news to share as Indiana prepared to face the Los Angeles Sparks at the crypto.com Arena.
“Very hopeful for tomorrow. Obviously, I think it will be difficult for me to play both this one on Wednesday and then obviously the one on Thursday, but we’ll see,” Clark told reporters on Tuesday.
“I would assume I’d be on a minutes restriction tomorrow, still hopefully a little bit over 20 (minutes) if I’m able to go, and I feel like I will be…” she continued.
“Just with it being a back-to-back, it’s obviously kind of tough to get back into it… Everything’s been good up until this point and hopefully have another great day of practice and be ready.”
Fever head coach White was also cautiously optimistic about managing her superstar’s minutes.
“I think we’re all pretty optimistic with her progression and the way that she’s gone. We got to make sure that we are literally taking it one day at a time,” White said. “But she’ll go through practice today, and we’ll evaluate post-practice and then again see how she feels in the morning.”
In Clark’s absence, Indiana did quite well, to be fair.
The team rattled off back-to-back double-digit victories, blowing past the Los Angeles Sparks and defending champion Las Vegas Aces to push their record to 12-8.
Kelsey Mitchell took over the offensive reins and initiated the fast break, and sliced through defensive pressure. She dropped 27 points on 7-of-18 shooting against Las Vegas.
Aliyah Boston also expanded her game to the perimeter. She pulled opposing rim protectors out of the paint to create driving lanes. Against the Aces, the four-time All-Star stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
For Clark, who had her fair share of injury struggles last season, a successful tune-up in Los Angeles will help ease back in, should the Fever need heavy minutes from her when the team heads to Phoenix on Thursday.
