Caitlin Clark’s injury an ‘opportunity’ for player and team to grow, Fever coach says

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark suffered a left quadriceps strain and will be sidelined for at least two weeks and the team’s next four games, the Fever announced Monday. Her extended absence will mark the first time she’s missed a game in her college or pro career, ending a streak of 183 consecutive games played.

Clark totaled 18 points, 10 assists and five rebounds while playing nearly 38 minutes in the Fever’s narrow home loss to the WNBA defending champion Liberty on Saturday, but she also tied her career high in turnovers with 10 in the contest.

BREAKING: #Fever superstar Caitlin Clark suffered a left quad strain and will be sidelined at least two weeks, the team announced today.

“Further updates will be provided, as available, following re-evaluation,” the team said. | @TheAthleticWBB

— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) May 26, 2025

Fever coach Stephanie White said Clark told the team after the game that she felt pain in her left quad, and a subsequent MRI revealed a strain. White said she did not know the grade of Clark’s strain — quad strains can range between Grades 1-3 with Grade 1 being the least severe and Grade 3 being the most severe — but said it was not a re-aggravation of the left quad injury that sidelined her for the Fever’s preseason opener May 3.

“Obviously, she’s a competitor and wants to play. Obviously, everyone wants to watch her play,” White said Monday after practice. “But for me, it’s maintaining perspective. It’s making sure that we address this in a way that doesn’t affect (her) long term. Don’t over-push, don’t overexert. 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.”

Indiana is 2-2 as it prepares for Clark’s absence. The Fever will play at Washington on Wednesday, host Connecticut Friday, host Washington again June 3 and play at Chicago on June 7. Clark will be reevaluated June 9, two days after the Fever play the Sky for the second time this season. That Saturday night matchup against Angel Reese & Co. has a prime-time slot on CBS, giving it the potential to be the most-watched WNBA regular-season game ever. That feat is likely in jeopardy now that Clark will be sidelined.

White quipped that “sometimes great players don’t tell when they’re hurting,” so she commended Clark for self-reporting her injury, especially amid a campaign with unprecedented physical demands. This year, the WNBA will play a league-record 44 games, which is four more than last season and eight more than in 2022.

White believes Clark’s injury could be beneficial to her development because she’ll have more time to break down the game while taking a coach’s point of view from the sideline. However, White acknowledged that Clark will likely remain frustrated at times and that’s understandable.

“I think we just challenge her to use it as an opportunity for growth,” White said. “It gives our team an opportunity to grow and learn how to play without her on the floor, so that when she gets back, we’re gonna be that much better.”

Last season, Clark took home Rookie of the Year honors and made the All-WNBA first team. She also set league records for assists in a game (19) and season (321) while leading the Fever to their first playoff appearance since 2016. Through the first four games of her second pro campaign, Clark is averaging 19.0 points, 9.3 assists and 6.0 rebounds. She is shooting 40.3 percent from the field, 31.4 percent on 3-pointers and 75.0 percent at the free-throw line.

Replacing a player of Clark’s caliber won’t be easy, but White is confident she has the team to do it. Indiana still has three other players on its roster — shooting guard Kelsey Mitchell, center Aliyah Boston and forward DeWanna Bonner — who were All-Stars last year.

“I don’t think we change how we play. I think we change what the emphasis is. … Utilizing our personnel in a different way,” White said. “You might not see as much of (Boston) getting the ball on a dive and a pick-and-roll … or where our (other) shots come from. A lot of times with (Clark) and the ball in her hands, our shots are coming from above the break. Now, we might get the ball moving end line to end line.”

In Clark’s absence, Mitchell, veteran wing Sophie Cunningham and backup point guard Sydney Colson are poised to take over the Fever’s ball-handling duties. Cunningham, who was traded from the Phoenix Mercury to the Fever during the offseason, has shouldered some of the point guard responsibilities early in the season. Colson joined Indiana in free agency after a three-year stint as a reserve point guard for the Las Vegas Aces, who won back-to-back championships in 2022 and 2023. The 35-year-old said she’d “stay ready” for whatever may be asked of her.

Mitchell, meanwhile, averaged a career-high 19.2 points but a career-low 1.8 assists per game last year in her first season with Clark, as the Fever ran their offense through their star rookie point guard. However, as an eighth-year pro, Mitchell had plenty of experience as the lead guard before Clark’s arrival, including a career-high 4.2 assists per game during the 2022 campaign.

“I think your aggressiveness has to be a little bit more disciplined,” Mitchell said, describing how her role could change without Clark starting beside her.

“I gotta be sharp in different areas on behalf of the team a little bit more. And just being a little bit more vocal. Not really my first thing to do, but I will sacrifice that for us to get some wins.”

Mitchell echoed White’s message of patience when discussing Clark’s absence. The 29-year-old has dealt with injuries of her own and vowed to be there for her 23-year-old teammate as she works her way back.

“Caitlin knows that she has the ears and eyes of the locker room and the support that she has behind (her), whether it’s us or anybody else,” Mitchell said. “I would like to think that she knows (the support is) there and to really take her time to make sure she’s well enough to be who she needs to be for us because I want the 100 percent Caitlin.”

(Photo: Andy Lyons / Getty Images)