Caitlin Clark entered the 2025 WNBA season with a variety of stress on her shoulders. After all, her identify alone brings eyes to all the pieces she touches — her workforce, the WNBA, girls’s basketball as a complete. After a rookie season of record-breaking and the levelling up the Indiana did within the offseason, Clark’s Indiana Fever have been anticipated to soar this season.
As a substitute, they’ve sputtered, and Clark’s repetitive accidents have been the supply of frustration. It’s the fault of nobody, particularly not Clark, as accidents are an inevitable and unlucky facet of sports activities. But, the character of the particular accidents Clark has had this yr has meant there isn’t any particular path for fast restoration.
That was the reminder supplied by the Fever’s Thursday replace on Clark, who was once more dominated OUT for the workforce’s recreation in opposition to the Las Vegas Aces. The workforce introduced that Clark had undergone additional analysis after she appeared to re-aggravate her groin harm final week and sat out of the workforce’s last recreation earlier than the All-Star Break.
No extra injury or harm was discovered, which is sweet information.
Caitlin Clark underwent additional medical evaluations earlier this week, which confirmed that no extra accidents or injury have been found.
Clark will proceed working with the medical workforce on her restoration and rehabilitation, with the precedence on her long-term well being and… pic.twitter.com/02RF3HVLJY
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) July 24, 2025
The “dangerous” information is that this makes restoration timelines murky. There’s nothing they’ll do besides deal with her ache and have her relaxation till she feels higher. The Fever stated simply that, that Clark will proceed her restoration with the workforce’s medical workers, with no timeline obtainable for when she may re-enter the lineup.
Indiana additionally stated that no additional particulars might be launched, and that updates will now be made as vital. Principally, they stated “cease asking about it.” They may seemingly solely replace now when Clark strikes from rehabbing to conditioning and making ready to rejoin the workforce on the court docket. It might be days, weeks, or longer, as groin accidents are notoriously nagging and unpredictable.
What does this imply for the Indiana Fever? Nicely, as of Thursday morning, the workforce is in seventh place within the WNBA standings with a report of 12-12. They head into an important recreation in opposition to the Las Vegas Aces on Thursday night time, the outcomes of which is able to seemingly have implications for the workforce’s last spot within the standings.
The Aces sit simply half a recreation forward of the Fever at present, and the 2 groups have had razor-thin margins between all of them season. Whoever wins this recreation can have a one-game edge over the opposite, which might be big on the subject of end-of-season standings. With each groups on that bubble of creating the playoffs, having one recreation come between making the playoffs or not can be crushing.
No matter all these implications, ideas proceed to return to Clark. It’s not regular to have the quantity of stress she has on her shoulders. Individuals journey lengthy distances and pay plenty of cash simply to see her play, which means that when she’s damage, typically followers can overreact and be imply. The hope can be that neither Clark, because the competitor she is, nor the Fever, frightened about these financial implications, would attempt to rush her again onto the court docket earlier than she is healed. Her long-term well being is most vital, and regardless of the stress she could really feel to please paying followers, to assist her workforce win, and stay as much as the expectations positioned on her, she wants to sit down out so long as she must.
Athletes usually say the psychological facet of accidents is worse than the bodily ache they endure, and it wouldn’t be surprising if that was very true for Clark. Whereas rational observers perceive that the WNBA will survive whereas she rests, many are outspoken (and, once more, imply) about their perception within the reverse. As a lot as she is idolized, Clark’s harm struggles this yr show what individuals usually neglect — that she is a human being and never invincible. Hopefully, she offers herself the grace to keep in mind that as nicely, and is aware of that she doesn’t have to rush again to show in any other case.
