Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark intends to return to action Wednesday against the Golden State Valkyries, ending a four-game absence with a groin strain. Clark told reporters at Tuesday’s practice that she does not know how many minutes she’ll play.
Fever coach Stephanie White also said she anticipates Clark to be available, barring any setbacks in her recovery. Clark last played June 24 and took an awkward fall in the closing seconds after scoring a season-low six points.
Clark participated in practice in a limited capacity in recent days, and on Sunday said she felt “good” and was taking things “day-by-day.” Her highly anticipated return should be a significant boon to a team that sits at .500 and is 4-5 in the nine games Clark has missed this season.
“It’s just nice to get back out there and get into the flow of playing with my teammates again,” Clark said. “It’s going to be fun to get back out there hopefully and just feel things again. I don’t know what the type of minutes I’m gonna get will look like, but when I’m out there, compete, play hard. This is going to be a team that’s going to be moving constantly, so just being aware and active, bring energy. It’s obviously hard sitting out and watching for a few weeks, so I’m definitely excited to get back out there.”
The Fever won the Commissioner’s Cup without Clark in the lineup, but they stand to benefit from the reigning Rookie of the Year’s 18.2 points, 8.9 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game rejoining the rotation. She already has four 20-point efforts on her ledger through nine appearances.
“I hope to play a decent amount, maybe upper 20s,” Clark said. “I guess it just depends how I feel and how the game goes and what the team needs, as well. I mean, I feel pretty good, but gonna try not to overdo it, as well, and put myself in a good position moving forward.
The groin strain was already Clark’s second injury this season. She missed three weeks early in the campaign due to a quad strain and has missed exactly half of the Fever’s 18 games with the two ailments. It was the first time since high school that Clark missed time as she played 185 straight games dating back to her Iowa career.
The Fever have yet to win more than two consecutive games this season as they battled the injury bug. Clark is not the only key contributor to miss time, and the team signed Aari McDonald last month with an emergency hardship exception after Clark, Sophie Cunningham and Sydney Colson hit the shelf.
