Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark will miss her fifth consecutive game on Tuesday (June 10), but will be "ramping back up" and participate in "some practicing" as she continues to recover from a left quad strain she sustained last month, head coach Steph White confirmed to reporters on Monday (June 9) via the Indianapolis Star's Chloe Peterson.
“We’re going to be smart, and we’re going to be cautious and we’re going to play the long game and work her back in very intentionally,” White said.
Indiana has gone 2-2 in Clark's absence ahead of Tuesday's game agains the Atlanta Dream. The second-year guard was re-evaluated for her quad issue over the weekend, having initially believed to be sidelined for two weeks.
Indiana is also without guard Sophie Cunningham, who has been recovering from an ankle injury she sustained on May 30.
“We’ve got to work both [Clark] and Sophie back into, are they in basketball condition? What does it mean to go live? It’s one thing to do shooting drills, it’s another thing to get out there on the floor, get back into movement patterns, rhythm, timing,” White said.
The first-year head coach initially said she didn't want to rush Clark back as it could lead to "lingering issues" later in the season.
“There’s so many things when you think about Caitlin and her not wanting to miss games. Obviously, she’s a competitor and wants to play. Obviously, everyone wants to watch her play,” White said last month via the Athletic. “But for me, it’s maintaining perspective. It’s making sure that we address this in a way that doesn’t affect [the] long term. That we take care of it, don’t over-push, don’t over-exert. Making sure that we take the long-game approach to this so that we’re not having lingering issues throughout the course of the season.”
Clark, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft and 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year, averaged 19.0 points, 9.3 assists and 6.0 rebounds during the Fever's first four games of the 2025 WNBA season prior to her injury. Indiana went 2-2 in Clark's first four games and is currently third in the Eastern Conference at 4-4 through its first eight games.
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