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Fever's Caitlin Clark not expected to play against Liberty due to groin injury after missing WNBA All-Star festivities

Fever's Caitlin Clark not expected to play against Liberty due to groin injury after missing WNBA All-Star festivities

Yahoo7 days ago
Caitlin Clark's status remains in question as the second half of the WNBA season kicks off on Tuesday. After the WNBA All-Star festivities in Indiana, Fever coach Stephanie White shared with the media that there are no updates on Clark's groin injury.
White also noted that Clark will meet with doctors on Monday and Tuesday while traveling to Brooklyn with the team for their game against the New York Liberty.
"I don't expect her to be available on Tuesday," White said. "We're just going to continue to take it one day at a time and let her get her evaluations early this week. And once we have that, hopefully, we'll have a clear mind on what that looks like."
Clark suffered a groin injury in the Fever's win over the Connecticut Sun on July 15. After helping the team establish a healthy lead, Clark was forced to exit the contest with under a minute to go in the fourth quarter. While the Fever secured an 85-77 win, White shared that Clark "felt a little something in her groin" before she frustratedly left the court.
As a result, Clark missed their next game against New York, which the Liberty won 98-77, and she did not participate in the All-Star competitions in front of the Fever's home crowd. Clark was named a 2025 WNBA All-Star captain and committed to play in the 3-point contest.
Clark's Indiana teammate, Lexie Hull, replaced her in the 3-point contest, won by New York's Sabrina Ionescu. She was replaced in the All-Star game by Fever teammate Kelsey Mitchell, instead performing coaching duties for Team Clark from the sideline as they fell to Napheesa Collier's team, 151-131.
After staying injury-free through her time at Iowa and her first year in the W, Clark has missed 10 games this season due to groin and quad injuries. Earlier this season, Clark missed five games due to a quad injury. After returning from her first groin strain, Clark is now dealing with a similar injury, having played in just 13 of the Fever's 23 games.
Clark is averaging 16.5 points and 8.8 assists per game, but she has struggled from beyond the arc, making just 27.5% of her attempts from deep — a career-low dating back to her time at Iowa. Her previous career-low shot percentage from 3 came as a sophomore with the Hawkeyes, where she shot 33.2% from beyond the arc.
The Fever are third in the Eastern Conference and sixth in WNBA standings with a 12-11 record. The defending champions have moved to second in the league and first in the East with a 5-6 record. Indiana holds a 1-2 record against New York this season.
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