After 3 weeks out, Caitlin Clark cleared to play Saturday vs. Liberty: 'Antsy to get out there'
INDIANAPOLIS – Barring any late regression, Caitlin Clark has been cleared for Saturday's game against the New York Liberty, Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White said Friday.
"I felt like today was better than yesterday in terms of just, you know, movement and balance and feeling like she's getting back into rhythm, timing, all of those things," White said. "And, you know, as long as we don't have any regression, she's gonna be ready to roll."
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Clark has been out for about three weeks after suffering a quad strain May 24 against the Liberty. She reported pain after that game, which the Fever lost, 90-88, and got an MRI that diagnosed the strain.
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She was then shut down for at least two weeks for the first time in her collegiate and professional career. She played all 139 games of her college career and the first 46 games of her professional career with the Fever, dating back to 2020.
During those two weeks, Clark saw the game from a different perspective. She sat directly next to the coaching staff during games, listening to their conversations and helping to take down notes.
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She also did "anything under the sun" in terms of rehabilitation on her quad, trying to make sure she could get back as fast as possible.
"A lot of needling," Clark started. "When you do treatment in rehab, you're still lifting. You're almost lifting heavier than probably what I was, what I would be doing on a day like today preparing for a game. Just trying to strengthen my muscles, my left leg and my right leg, literally anything I tried it. Red light therapy, hyperbaric oxygen chamber, like we do it all. And the same goes, even when I'm feeling healthy, like it's a big part of it, massages, everything."
Clark missed four games before she was officially re-evaluated following Indiana's win over Chicago on June 7. Indiana went 2-2 in that span, dropping the first two games to the Mystics and Sun, then beating the Mystics and the Sky with the help of hardship player Aari McDonald.
Clark got more imaging done on her quad to compare to when she was injured, making sure she was recovering as scheduled and her quad was healed enough to play.
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"There was imaging done to tell that my leg is okay," Clark said. "We're not guessing. We're not going off of feeling. So I can find confidence in that, that, you know, we weren't able to find anything or see anything, and that was kind of my all-clear. I knew I was feeling really good. So that wasn't a surprise by any means that it looked that way when we saw, when we had the imaging done."
Clark started practice again on June 9. She still missed Indiana's game at Atlanta on June 10, but that was part of her ramp-up period to get back into game shape, getting back into the rhythm and the intricacies of the game.
"It's definitely been a process," Clark said. "I think the hardest part is when you, like, get to feel really good, and it's just a process of, like, working yourself back into actually getting up and down and getting out there with my teammates... I'm super, super excited, antsy to get out there, probably shake off a little bit of rust."
Ramping up to game speed, in general, is a new experience for her, too. She's never had an injury that has kept her out multiple weeks in-season, thus has never had to get back into game shape quickly after that injury.
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But she knew she needed to take it slow; trying to return too early could've led to multiple issues, including a re-aggravation of the quad strain or some other injury if she wasn't totally in shape.
"I think it's just like, having the mindset of, you know, I don't need to make up for lost time," Clark said. "Just being patient and getting back into the flow of things, getting back into the flow of playing with my team."
Of course, Clark's return means McDonald, who signed with the Fever on a hardship contract on June 1, was cut. To comply with WNBA collective bargaining rules, McDonald's contract will be automatically terminated once the Fever reach 10 game-available players on their roster.
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar's Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark injury: Fever star cleared to play vs NY Liberty on Saturday
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