Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark has missed the team’s last five games with a left quad strain, but has been cleared to return to action on Saturday against the reigning champion New York Liberty — the same team she was injured against back on May 24.
“It’s definitely been a process,” Clark said on Friday of her rehab. “I think the hardest part is when you begin to feel really good, and then it’s just the process of working yourself back into actually getting up and down and getting out there with my teammates. And obviously that can be a little difficult, at the same time, when they’re prepping for their games that I’m not going to be available in.”
The Fever are 2-3 without Clark in the lineup, and 4-5 on the season, which has them in seventh place — five games behind the first-place Liberty, who are off to the best start in franchise history at 9-0. Will the Liberty stay perfect? Or will Clark and Co. hand them their first defeat?
Here’s everything you need to know.
Caitlin Clark injury update: Fever star returning to lineup vs. Liberty after dealing with quad strain
Jordan Dajani
Date: Saturday, June 14 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
Location: Gainbridge Fieldhouse — Indianapolis
TV: ABC | Streaming: fubo (try for free)
Clark has never dealt with an injury like this in her career. Prior to her quad strain, she hadn’t missed a game since high school, and had played in 185 consecutive games dating back to her freshman season at Iowa.
“She’s working her way back,” Fever coach Stephanie White told reporters after practice on Friday. “I felt like today was better than yesterday in terms of just movement, balance and feeling like she’s getting back into rhythm, timing, all those things. As long as we don’t have any regression, she’s going to be ready to roll.”
Over the first four games of the season, Clark was averaging 19 points, six rebounds and a league-leading 9.3 assists in 34.9 minutes per game. Can she get right back to that sort of production immediately? The Fever will certainly hope so, but the Liberty are a tough matchup. Last time out, Natasha Cloud helped force Clark into a career-high-tying 10 turnovers.
As for how much Clark will play, that remains to be seen. White said she would “defer to whatever the medical staff suggests.”
The Liberty have been dominant to start the season. They’re in first place at 9-0, and are first in offensive rating (111.5), defensive rating (88.1) and net rating (plus-23.4). Their 48-point win over the Connecticut Sun earlier this season was the second-largest margin of victory in league history, and four of their wins have come by at least 20 points.
With the Minnesota Lynx’s loss earlier this week, the Liberty are the last remaining undefeated team. Can they get to 10-0? If so, they’ll become the fourth team in league history to start a season with at least 10 consecutive wins. Here’s a look at the best starts ever:
| Lynx | 2016 | 13-0 |
| 2016 | 11-0 | |
| Lynx | 2012 | 10-0 |
| Liberty | 2025 | 9-0 |
The Liberty are slight favorites even though they’re on the road, Clark is back and Jonquel Jones is questionable due to an ankle injury. This is a tricky ones considering Jones’ status and the fact that the Fever are a completely different team with Clark. The Fever could certainly pull off the upset, but it’s hard to pick against the Liberty these days. Pick: Liberty -5
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