Caitlin Clark Could Return Before the End of the Regular Season, According to the Coach
The Indiana Fever is hoping to have their star, Caitlin Clark, return before the end of the regular season, according to coach Stephanie White. When asked if he anticipates Clark’s return for the end of the regular season, White replied: “That’s the hope. The hope is that he returns.” Clark has been absent for the last month due to a right groin injury she suffered in the last minute of the Fever’s game against the Connecticut Sun on July 15. The 2024 draft’s first pick and a member of the All-WNBA first team, had already been out this summer due to injuries to her left quadriceps and left groin, which limited her to only 13 games in her second season. In the time he has been on the court, Clark has averaged 16.5 points, 8.8 assists, and 5.0 rebounds per game. The Fever has not set a timeline for her return, and White has reiterated that the organization does not want to rush Clark, even after losing point guards Aari McDonald and Sydney Colson to injuries that prevent them from playing the rest of the season.Clark usually travels with the team on road trips, but he was not present in Connecticut for undisclosed reasons. The Fever added guards Odyssey Sims and Kyra Lambert after McDonald and Colson were out. After losing their last two games, both at home against teams at the bottom of the table, Indiana overcame a 21-point deficit on Sunday in Connecticut, despite losing Sophie Cunningham to a knee injury in the second quarter. Indiana (19-16) currently holds the sixth position with nine games remaining in the regular season, and is close to losing its playoff spot, which begins on September 14.“The experience throughout the year, trying to come back and return quickly, has also taught him that he needs to make sure he is 100 percent,” White said. “Yes, every competitor wants to play, but at the same time, doing it the right way and making sure, after having had a couple of setbacks, that we are prioritizing his long-term health and well-being is the most important thing.”
Stephanie White
“I think, for us, to reiterate that we have to be where our feet are. We can’t look too far back. We can’t look too far ahead. We have to make sure we’re focused on one day at a time.” Sims replaced Lexie Hull in the starting lineup on Sunday. White hopes that, after adjusting to the absence of McDonald and Colson and integrating Sims and Lambert, his team can find a new rhythm. “Every time there’s an adjustment to be made, especially with a player being out, and now with two players out, it takes a little time,” White said. “If they’re your main ball handlers, I think it takes a little time and practice. So I think there’s another gear we can get to.”“We have great leadership in that locker room,” White said about how the Fever has handled adversity. “This group is unified. They are connected. They stick together.”
Stephanie White
