The Indiana Fever are fighting to secure a playoff berth, but they may have to finish the WNBA regular season without their most important player.
Caitlin Clark, sidelined with a groin injury for more than a month, is still not close to returning, and head coach Stephanie White has admitted the team cannot guarantee her availability before the postseason.
Clark was ruled out again on Sunday against the Connecticut Sun, marking her 13th consecutive absence and her 23rd missed game of the year. For Fever fans hoping to see her back in time for the team’s final stretch, White’s update was less than reassuring.
“That’s the hope. The hope is that she’s back,” White said when asked if Clark would play again in the regular season.
Her careful wording underscored the uncertainty surrounding the situation, with the franchise determined to protect its star’s long-term health rather than risk aggravating the injury.
The team has made it clear that Clark‘s recovery will not be rushed. Earlier this week, White described the process as deliberately cautious.
“It’s day-to-day right now, we’re putting no timetable on it,” White explained. “She is going through the rehab process, and then we want to reintegrate her from a strength and conditioning standpoint and then get her back to basketball activities.
“We’re taking it one day at a time, really slow rolling it. The most important thing for us is Caitlin‘s long-term health and getting her back to 100% before we put her back on the floor.”
For Indiana, the dilemma is obvious: push to get Clark back for the final 10 games, or accept the possibility of entering the playoffs without her.
Her absence has already shaped the team’s season. The Fever have gone 8-5 with Clark in the lineup, compared to 10-11 without her.
While they managed to win the Commissioner’s Cup in her absence – a contest not counted in the official standings – the difference in performance has been clear.
The 2023 No. 1 pick, who electrified the league as a rookie and quickly became one of its most marketable stars, has endured a frustrating second season.
After injuries interrupted her momentum in May, the groin issue has kept her off the court for much of the summer.
Clark has appeared in just 13 games, a sharp contrast to her first season, when she was a constant presence and helped lift Indiana back into contention.
Fever looking ahead
The Fever enter the final stretch of the regular season in seventh place, narrowly above the playoff cutline.
They sit 1.5 games ahead of the Los Angeles Sparks for the eighth and final spot while trailing the Phoenix Mercury and defending champion Las Vegas Aces by the same margin.
Every game now carries weight, but without Clark, Indiana has little margin for error.
Their schedule does not make things easier. After Sunday’s clash with Connecticut, the Fever face the Minnesota Lynx twice in quick succession before a critical stretch against direct playoff rivals.
The regular season finale on September 9 also comes against Minnesota, a team that has historically been a tough matchup for Indiana.
While the focus remains on whether Clark can return in time, White and the Fever are prioritizing perspective. Clark, who signed a lucrative contract extension with the franchise earlier this year, represents Indiana’s long-term future.
For a player seen as central not only to the team’s success but also to the league’s growth, rushing her back for short-term gain is a risk the organization is reluctant to take.
Still, the uncertainty casts a shadow over Indiana’s season. A playoff berth without Clark would be a bittersweet achievement, while an early exit could fuel questions about how far this team can go until its star guard is fully healthy again.
For now, Indiana’s season rests on two parallel tracks: the team’s fight to secure one of the WNBA’s final postseason spots, and the careful management of a player they cannot afford to lose in the long run. The answers to both may only come in the season’s final days.
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