The Indiana Fever might be without star guard Caitlin Clark again for a bit after she injured her groin Tuesday night late in a win over the Connecticut Sun.
It will be a busy week for the league’s young star if she can play. Clark and the Fever visit New York on Wednesday night in the second half of a back-to-back, and Indiana hosts the All-Star Game this weekend. Clark is set to compete in a loaded 3-point contest Friday night and is captain of one of the All-Star teams.
“No update. Just felt a little something in her groin. We’ll get it evaluated and see what happens from there,” Fever coach Stephanie White said after an 85-77 victory over the Sun in Boston.
Clark got hurt with under a minute left when she walked downcourt holding her right groin after assisting on the Fever’s final basket. As teammate Aliyah Boston tried to console her, Clark walked to the basket stanchion and banged her head against it before heading to the bench. During the timeout, she covered her head with a towel and appeared to be holding back tears.
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Clark had been durable throughout college and her first season in the WNBA, never missing a game. Now she’s had four different muscle injuries so far this year.
She missed the preseason opener with tightness in her quad but played the next day in an exhibition game at her alma mater, Iowa. She suffered a quad strain against New York on May 24 that kept her out for five games. Clark returned on June 14 and played in five games before suffering another injury to her left groin that kept her out for four contests and the Commissioner’s Cup final.
The Fever cancelled the shootaround Wednesday morning in New York, a common practice when a team is playing back-to-back games.
“I think we just take it one step at a time. We’ll get some food, get on the plane and start talking about New York,” White said.
“She’s being evaluated, we’ll see where we are with that, and certainly we’ll have another evaluation, probably in conversation in the morning, and see where we are. But, you know, this group has played without her, we’ve at least got experience in that. We know that we have a tough opponent in New York, and we know it’s going to be a challenge no matter what,” she added.