After 3 weeks out, Caitlin Clark cleared to play Saturday vs. Liberty: 'Antsy to get out there'
INDIANAPOLIS – Barring any later 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."
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.
WNBA All-Star Game is coming up. Here's how to vote for your favorite players
She was shut down for two weeks and was re-evaluated following Indiana's game at Chicago on June 7, getting extra imaging done on her quad to make sure it was healed.
"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. Since then, she has been ramping back up to game speed, 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."
This is the first time in Clark's college and professional career she has missed games because of an injury. 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.
Now, ramping back up to game speed, it's a big adjustment for her. She's never had to get back into game shape in-season after an injury.
"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 Aari McDonald, who signed with the Fever on a hardship contract on June 1, will be 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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
23 minutes ago
- CNN
Fever dream: Caitlin Clark and her teammates are still shocked – and inspired – by the circus following their team
Caitlin Clark says that she always dreamed of playing in the WNBA – and dreamed of playing in front of big crowds – but the seismic transformation she has inspired in women's basketball has still taken her by surprise. 'Being on the magnitude it is,' she told CNN Sports recently, 'is kind of hard to imagine.' During the Indiana Fever's first game of the new season in May, the excitement levels were at a fever pitch. Journalists covering the game against the Chicago Sky compared the energy both inside and outside of the packed 17,000-seat arena to a championship game, not the opener of a 44-game regular season. Her teammates dreamed it too, though many wondered if they'd ever experience it personally during their careers. During that home opener, Indiana's 37-year-old Dawanna Bonner became the WNBA's third-highest scorer of all time, but all the hoopla at Gainbridge Fieldhouse was something new. 'The atmosphere was insane,' Bonner explained to CNN Sports. 'I don't think I've ever played in front of that many people before, I was a little shellshocked. You see it on TV, but to be in it, it's like, 'Whoa!'' Since its inception in 1996, the WNBA alone was never able to fully support professional players, and Bonner spent 16 years supplementing her income from the Phoenix Mercury and the Connecticut Sun by playing in the Czech Republic, Spain, Russia, China, Israel, Hungary and Turkey. She said, 'To have all those fans screaming for you is a pretty cool experience, you've gotta get used to it!' Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell, 29, is now in the eighth year of her professional career and she's also having to adjust to the intensity of life at the epicenter of a women's sports revolution. 'It's an experience,' Mitchell chuckled, explaining to CNN Sports that the intensity isn't just confined to the court in front of packed arenas. 'The media, the constant eyes, some of the eyes you least expect. I've been in the league a while, so this is kind of new for me. I knew it would get here eventually. I didn't expect the impact, but it's such a positive and beautiful way.' Even the younger players, like 24-year-old Lexie Hull, appreciate that the explosion in the popularity of the women's game could not have been taken for granted. 'I was talking to Caitlin in the locker room, and we said, 'How lucky are we to lace up our shoes and do this for a living, as a job?'' Hull told CNN. 'The amount of people who come out every night and support us and cheer for us, it's pretty surreal.' Some of those young fans are now dreaming of following their idols into the league. Eleven-year-old Kamryn Thomas and her friend Merridy Kennington and their moms drove 300 miles to see Clark and the Fever play in Atlanta against the Dream. 'I think both of our dreams is to be in the WNBA,' Kamryn said confidently, while Merridy said that Clark is doing more than just inspiring them: 'I just feel that watching her makes me better and better.' Excitement in women's basketball might seem normal to such young fans, but their parents have told them that it wasn't always this way. 'I've explained to her that I grew up playing college basketball and it was never like this,' said Stephanie Thomas. 'Caitlin Clark has delivered something to women's sports that I don't think anybody else could deliver, and I think she's got a lot of women excited to see the future of their athlete daughters.' This moment in women's sports is long overdue, and everybody touched by it seems to recognize that things will never be the same again. Hull said she spent four years playing basketball and studying for a degree at university, assuming that she'd get a regular job at the end of it. 'I didn't think I'd be playing basketball every day,' she explained to CNN Sports. 'This is (now) a real option for girls, they can have these dreams in first and second grade, being a basketball player is now a legitimate goal to have. I just can't imagine what the sport is going to look like when players have been playing with that goal in mind for 15 years.' While some WNBA players might struggle to say that the rapid transformation of their sport is down to one player, the ticket prices for recent Fever games make Clark's impact hard to deny. TickPick reported a 71% decrease in ticket value when she was injured on the sidelines, while Sports Illustrated reported prices plummeting from $393 down to just $7. 'I like to think our team is here for her,' Mitchell said. 'So, whatever she does, she keeps changing the world, and we're here to support it.' Clark herself says she can't imagine where things might go from here. She can remember being the young fan looking up with wide eyes and big dreams and she understands the responsibility that she carries now. 'I try to make as much time as I can to sign an autograph because that can really impact somebody's life. Maybe they're going to put that up in their room and look at it every day and have something to dream about, it's not something I take lightly at all,' the superstar guard said to CNN. 'A lot of people didn't believe that women's sports would be in the moment that it is today. It's going to continue to grow and I'm lucky to be a part of it. I think, really, the sky's the limit.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Caitlin Clark excites Fever fans at United Center despite not playing vs. Sky
The post Caitlin Clark excites Fever fans at United Center despite not playing vs. Sky appeared first on ClutchPoints. When the Indiana Fever took on the Chicago Sky in their opening game of the season, millions of people watched. Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese added another chapter to their rivalry, exchanging words and contact that set social media ablaze. Unfortunately, the Fever's All-WNBA player is still out with a quad injury and missed the second matchup of the season at the United Center in Chicago. Advertisement However, her injury did not stop Clark from bringing smiles to her fans' faces. Before the game tipped off, she spent time with her fans, signing autographs and taking pictures. Fans were excited to see her, even if she wasn't playing in the game. CHGO Sports caught some interactions on camera, showing how popular Clark is, even hundreds of miles away from her home floor. Clark and Reese have dominated storylines across the WNBA since they joined the league in 2024. The game between the Fever and Sky was anticipated to attract tens of thousands of fans. Chicago decided to move the game to the United Center in order to accommodate the larger crowds. Even with Clark on the bench with her injury, the Fever are one game under .500 heading into their game against the Sky. Chicago, on the other hand, has struggled to start the 2025 season. Advertisement Fans bought tickets to see Clark and Reese go against one another in another epic clash. Despite the absence of the league's brightest star, each matchup between the Fever and Sky has the chance to be a great game. Clark has said that she is not going to rush into her return. However, the Fever might want her back sooner that she wants. With Tyasha Harris also out with injury, Sophie Cunningham has been thrust into point guard duties. Clark continues to work her way back to the court, but she did not leave her fans hanging. The trip to the United Center was still worth it for fans going to see the game between the Fever and Sky, which has quickly become one of the league's biggest rivalries. Related: Camera catches Fever star Caitlin Clark's reaction to Angel Reese's blatant travel Related: Why Sophie Cunningham isn't playing vs. Sky
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Camera catches Fever star Caitlin Clark's reaction to Angel Reese's blatant travel
The post Camera catches Fever star Caitlin Clark's reaction to Angel Reese's blatant travel appeared first on ClutchPoints. Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark wasn't on the court to face Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky due to injury. Despite this, she still managed to get attention for her reactions from the team's bench on Saturday night. Advertisement Clark has been absent since suffering a left quadriceps injury against the New York Liberty on May 24. This had her be absent from the Fever's last four contests. which the team went 2-2 in that stretch. Clark was on the bench as she and her teammates witnessed a comedic moment from Reese. The Sky forward committed a travel with 4:49 remaining in the third quarter, which prompted a hilarious reaction from Clark. How Caitlin Clark's Fever played against Sky Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Caitlin Clark and the Fever had a great time on Saturday, dominating Angel Reese and the Sky in a 79-52 blowout win on Saturday. Even without their star guard, the Fever still flourished with their shooting and playmaking. They created 20 assists throughout the course of the game as they shot 45.8% from the field, including 40.7% from beyond the arc. On defense, they forced Chicago to commit 19 turnovers and held them to shooting splits of 32.1% and 20%. Advertisement Four players scored in double-digits on Indiana's behalf. Kelsey Mitchell led the way with 17 points, five rebounds, two assists, and a steal. She shot 5-of-11 from the field, including 1-of-6 from beyond the arc, and 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. Natasha Howard came next with 13 points and five rebounds, Aari McDonald had 12 points and three steals, while Aliyah Boston provided 11 points and five rebounds. Indiana improved to a 4-4 record on the season, staying at the third spot of the Eastern Conference standings. They are one game behind the Atlanta Dream and four games behind the New York Liberty. The Fever will look to continue their winning rhythm when they prepare for their next matchup, being on the road. They face the Dream on June 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Related: Caitlin Clark excites Fever fans at United Center despite not playing vs. Sky Related: Why Sophie Cunningham isn't playing vs. Sky
