After missing the previous four games due to a groin strain, Caitlin Clark is due to return tonight against the Golden State Valkyries.
At Tuesday’s Fever practice, Clark told reporters that she is not sure how many minutes she will play in her return.
“It’s just nice to get back out there and get into the flow of playing with my teammates again,” Clark said. “It’s going to be fun to get back out there hopefully and just feel things again. I don’t know what the type of minutes I’m gonna get will look like, but when I’m out there, compete, play hard. This is going to be a team that’s going to be moving constantly, so just being aware and active, bring energy. It’s obviously hard sitting out and watching for a few weeks, so I’m definitely excited to get back out there.”
Although the Fever went 4-5 in Clark’s absence, the team was able to win the Commissioner’s Cup, fueled by tremendous play on the defensive side of the ball.
Clark missed three weeks earlier in the season with a quad strain. The absence marked the first time Clark had missed since high school.
The Fever have been hit hard by the injury bug, with Sophie Cunningham who missed time by injuring her ankle on two separate occasions and Sydney Colson suffered an upper left leg injury in June. The team was forced to sign guard Aari McDonald last month as a hardship exception.
Clark has appeared in half of Indiana’s 18 games, putting up per-game averages of 18.2 points, 8.9 assists, and 5.0 rebounds.
