Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark has been out with a right groin injury for nearly a month, leaving many fans wondering when the All-Star guard will make her return to the court.
Clark will miss the Fever’s matchup against the Washington Mystics on Friday, her 12th consecutive absence since suffering the groin injury July 15. Clark, who previously missed time with a left quad and a left groin injury, has been sidelined 20 of the Fever’s 33 games this season. Indiana is 8-5 with Clark in the lineup and 10-10 without her on the floor.
Clark’s lengthy absence marks uncharted territory for the 2024 Rookie of the Year, who never missed a game during her four years at Iowa or during her rookie campaign with the Fever.
‘I’ve never been through anything like this, which is probably why it’s been so hard,’ Clark said during a Aug. 8 episode of Sue Bird’s podcast, ‘Bird’s Eye View.’ ‘I’ve never really dealt with injury. It’s probably been a challenge in itself because when I was first feeling pain, I didn’t understand it.’
Clark isn’t the only injury Indiana is navigating. The Fever lost guards Sydney Colson (left ACL tear) and Aari McDonald (broken right foot) to season-ending injuries, further depleting the team’s depth at point guard. The Fever signed guard Odyssey Sims to a hardship contract on Sunday and guard Kyra Lambert to a seven-day contract on Thursday.
Here’s what we know about Clark’s injury status, including a full injury timeline:
Is Caitlin Clark playing Friday? Injury status for Fever-Mystics
Clark (right groin injury) will likely be ruled out of the Fever’s matchup against the Washington Mystics on Friday in Indianapolis, which is set to tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET (4:30 p.m. PT) on ESPN. Indiana hasn’t announced a timetable for Clark’s return. Earlier this week, Fever coach Stephanie White said Clark has resumed running, but hasn’t returned to practice just yet, meaning her return won’t be anytime soon.
If Clark is ruled out, Friday’s game against the Mystics would mark her 21st total absence of the year.
How was Caitlin Clark injured?
Clark suffered a right groin injury in the final minute of the Fever’s 85-77 victory over the Sun at TD Garden in Boston on July 15. With 39.1 seconds remaining in the contest, Clark completed a bounce pass to Kelsey Mitchell to put the Fever up 84-75. After the pass, Clark immediately grabbed for her right groin and grimaced as she gingerly walked over and headbutted the stanchion. She did not return to the game.
Caitlin Clark injury timeline
- May 24: Clark suffered a left quad injury during the Fever’s 90-88 loss to the New York Liberty, where she recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists. Clark couldn’t pinpoint the specific play that caused her injury, but noted that it happened early in the contest. Clark said, ‘Adrenaline covers up a lot of stuff when you’re in the heat of battle. After the game, I had some pain, and then we got an MRI, and that kind of gave me the result that I didn’t want to see.’ She missed the Fever’s next five games.
- June 14: Clark returned to Indiana’s lineup in the Fever’s 102-88 win over the Liberty and dropped 32 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in her first game back.
- June 24: Clark suffered a left groin injury in the Fever’s 94-86 win over the Seattle Storm, which resulted in Clark missing the team’s next four games. Fever coach Stephanie White said she learned of Clark’s groin injury the following night after Clark alerted team trainers of discomfort.
- July 1: Clark was ruled out of the Fever’s 2025 Commissioner’s Cup win over the Minnesota Lynx in Minneapolis. That didn’t stop Clark from rightfully celebrating the team’s hardware.
- July 9: Clark returned to the Fever’s lineup in the Fever’s 80-61 loss to the Golden State Valkyries. Clark was limited to 10 points, shooting 4 of 12 from the field and 2 of 5 from the 3-point line, in addition to six assists, five rebounds and four turnovers. Following the blowout loss, Clark said it was ‘going to take me a second to get my wind back. … Just trying to get my legs under me.’
- July 15: Clark suffered a right groin injury in the final minute of the Fever’s 85-77 victory over the Sun at TD Garden in Boston. White later confirmed Clark ‘felt a little something in her groin.’ This marked the last game for which Clark suited up.
- July 18: Clark announced that she would sit out the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis, where she was named a team captain. Clark was also set to participate in the 3-point contest. She said, ‘I am incredibly sad and disappointed to say I can’t participate … I have to rest my body.’
- July 24: The Fever said Clark’s medical evaluations confirmed there’s ‘no additional injuries or damage,’ but the team said it will be cautious with Clark’s rehab and recovery.
- August 8: During an appearance on Sue Bird’s podcast, ‘Bird’s Eye View,’ Clark spoke about the frustrations of her injury-filled season: “It’s not like I have a training camp to build up to play in my first game again. It’s like no, you’re tossed into Game 30 — like, ‘Go try to play well.’ It’s hard, it really is.”
- August 10: Fever coach Stephanie White said Clark has progressed in her recovery and has started running full court again, but Clark hasn’t returned to practice just yet: an important step in her ramp-up. ‘She’s been able to get a little bit more in her full-court running with all of her body weight… She’s been able to do a little more on the court in terms of how she moves, but not into practice yet,’ White said.
Caitlin Clark stats
Clark is averaging 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and a career-high 8.8 assists in 13 games this season. Her assists average is the second-highest in the league, behind Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas (9.0).
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