The Indiana Fever have spent much of the 2025 season learning to live without Caitlin Clark. Their star guard has been sidelined for weeks with lingering groin and bone bruise issues, yet somehow, the team has pushed through adversity to stay in playoff contention.
Now, with the regular season down to its final stretch, the question is unavoidable: should the Fever risk Clark’s return, or is patience the smarter play?
Clark’s absence has been felt across the league, not just by Indiana fans desperate for a glimpse of their franchise centerpiece, but also by broadcasters and analysts who know her presence changes the landscape of the WNBA.
Still, the Fever have held their ground. Kelsey Mitchell has carried the scoring load, while Natasha Howard has provided stability. But with injuries wiping out backcourt contributors like Aari McDonald, Sydney Colson, and Sophie Cunningham, the roster has been stretched to its limit.
Head coach Stephanie White has been cautious about rushing her star back. “Would want to see Clark fully participate in practice before she returns,” she explained, making clear that medical readiness comes before any push for a late-season playoff run.
Clark has missed 25 games this season, and the longer her recovery drags, the louder the calls for her to sit out the rest of the year. WNBA legend Lisa Leslie was blunt in her assessment: “I would not put Caitlin Clark back on the floor this season.”
Rachel DeMita echoed the concern, suggesting, “Maybe this season is just done for her. Maybe it doesn’t make sense for her to come back into the mix if the Fever aren’t contenders. Are the Fever contenders at this point? I’m just not so sure. Do you risk another injury that can again compound and compound and turn into something else down the line?”
Terrika Foster-Brasby added her own perspective, warning that Clark’s reported bone bruise could be more serious than it sounds: “Not only still nursing that groin injury, but was recently reported as having a mild bone bruise. I’ve had a bone bruise before and it wasn’t mild, it took a while to heal.”
That sentiment has even reached fans, with polls showing nearly 67 percent of supporters believe Indiana should protect Clark for the long term. As ESPN’s Andraya Carter summed up, the Fever must “resist the urge to rush greatness.”
The lure of a playoff push
Yet there is another side to the conversation. The Fever currently sit in playoff position, a scenario few would have predicted when Clark first went down.
Some believe that inserting her back into the lineup could elevate Indiana from a scrappy underdog to a legitimate threat. History is on their side: the 2021 Chicago Sky turned a low seed into a championship run.
“If you add Caitlin Clark back in, not only can they win a couple of playoff games maybe that they weren’t supposed to, maybe the Fever shock the world and actually win a playoff series,” one analyst suggested.
But even supporters of that argument acknowledge the risks. Clark would return to a roster with depleted guard depth, an offense that has adapted to her absence, and very little time to rediscover her rhythm.
As Ros Gold-Onwude pointed out, “I don’t think the Fever really have enough depth at guard to support a Caitlin Clark comeback. Do you even have enough bodies to support that?”
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