Caitlin Clark Plays Through Back Injury: Fever Star Listed Probable for Sun Showdown
Caitlin Clark is doing what she has been doing for almost a month. She is playing through pain.
The Indiana Fever star is listed as probable for Saturday’s game against the Connecticut Sun with a back injury that has been bothering her since mid-May. She has not missed many games. She has not stopped producing. But the injury is real, and the Fever’s medical staff is being cautious.
Clark has every reason to take any day off she needs. Indiana’s training staff has every reason to be careful with the franchise’s most important player. So far, both sides have made it work, and Clark has continued to put up numbers that would lead the league in most counting stats.
The Numbers
Through 10 games this season, Clark is averaging 18.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.9 assists, and 1.0 steals. Those are All-WNBA numbers. The shooting splits are not yet where she wants them, which is the most obvious sign that the back is bothering her.
The bigger note is the game-winner against the Washington Mystics on Monday. Clark hit her first career game-winning shot in a 78-76 Fever win, picking up the kind of moment her stardom always pointed toward.
The other big game was a 32-point, seven-rebound, 10-assist showing against the Chicago Sky on Wednesday. Triple-double watch followed her around the building for the second half of that game. She is playing at a superstar level.
The Injury History Is the Concern
Clark played only 13 games last season due to a string of injuries. Quad. Groin. Ankle. Now back. The Fever cannot afford another year where their face of the franchise misses two-thirds of the schedule.
The medical staff knows it. Head coach Stephanie White knows it. The conservative approach Indiana is taking with this back injury, listing her probable on game days and resting her at practice, is the right one. The Fever need Clark in May, July, September, and most of all October.
Last season’s injury issues robbed the WNBA of its biggest draw for most of the year. The league cannot afford that to happen again, either. National TV ratings drop. Arena attendance drops. The whole product takes a hit.
The Bigger Picture
Indiana sits in the top half of the conference and is playing entertaining basketball. Kelsey Mitchell is having her best year. The supporting cast around Clark is finally producing. The team looks like a real contender for the first time in the Clark era.
Clark herself has talked openly about how isolating injury rehab can be. She missed huge chunks of last season and watched her team struggle without her. The drive to be available night in and night out is clearly powering her right now.
The smart thing for the Fever is to keep doing what they are doing. Manage practices. Listen to Clark. Take the occasional rest game when the calendar allows it. Get her to October healthy.
If Indiana does that, this might finally be the season the Fever stop being a young team learning how to compete and start being a legitimate threat to win the WNBA title. The back injury is the only thing in the way.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
