Caitlin Clark’s sophomore season at Iowa was one to remember: She was an AP First-Team All-American, was named Big Ten Player of the Year, and led the country in both scoring and assists. But Clark’s sophomore year as a professional has been one to forget thanks to injuries.
First, she missed five games from May to June because of a quadriceps ailment. She then returned to play in five games, then missed four more games due to a left groin injury. After being cleared and returning to the court for four games in mid-July, Clark then hurt her right groin on July 15, which ended up knocking her out of the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game—in which she was a team captain—a game that just happened to take place at her home arena in Indianapolis.
Clark hasn’t played since the injury to her right groin. She’s missed the last 13 Indiana Fever games, and 22 games overall this season. Many are wondering when, or if, Clark will return this year, with the Fever having just nine games left in the regular season. Teammate Sophie Cunningham wasn’t encouraging when discussing Clark’s current ailment.
“She doesn’t even know [when she’ll be back],” Cunningham said on the Show Me Something podcast. “Literally, it’s a day-by-day legit type of thing.
“You have to remember she would be playing if she wasn’t in the WNBA right now. At this level, with how deep and how good people are nowadays in our league, which is the best it’s ever been, you can’t just be good. You have to be on top of your game. So just trying to get her back in game shape is what [the Fever trainers are] trying to do. Again, it’s literally day-by-day. I’m not withholding any information.”
Indiana is 8-5 this season when Clark plays and 11-11 when she doesn’t. The 19-16 record is good for sixth place in the WNBA standings, with the top eight clinching a playoff berth. But a postseason spot is no guarantee with the ninth-seeded Los Angeles Sparks just 2.5 games back, and Indiana has a difficult schedule to close the year.
The team faces the league-leading Minnesota Lynx three times over the final nine games, in addition to matchups versus Seattle, Golden State, and Phoenix, who all currently have playoff spots. Those Sparks also loom as the Fever have to go on the road to face them on Aug. 31.
It was clear when Clark was on the court that she wasn’t fully healthy, based on her performance this year compared with last season. Her field goal percentage dropped from 41.7 to 36.7 while her scoring average went from 19.2 to 16.5. Her world-famous three-point shooting has also fallen off—she’s shooting 27.9 percent from downtown this season, down from 34.4 percent.
Perhaps one reason it’s taking Clark so long to recover is that being sidelined by injuries is a new experience for her. She played in all 40 games as a WNBA rookie, played in 139 of a possible 139 games while at Iowa, and suited up for all of her games as both a high school senior and junior. This is the first time she’s missed games since her sophomore year in high school, and given her two re-injuries after returning this year, the Fever training staff is rightly being cautious.
Cunningham has also fallen victim to injuries. After beginning her first year in Indiana as a reserve, she moved into the starting lineup 13 games ago, only for her season to end Sunday when she tore the MCL in her right knee. That knocked her out for the rest of the year and left the Fever extremely shorthanded at the guard position.
In an Aug. 7 game, two Indiana guards suffered season-ending injuries: Aari McDonald (broken bone in foot) and Sydney Colson (torn ACL).
Strapped for available bodies, the Fever were granted a hardship exception by the WNBA. That allowed the team to sign a player to a short-term contract, exceeding the roster limit. Indiana signed former WNBA All-Star Odyssey Sims to a seven-day contract on Aug. 10, then signed her to a second seven-day deal on Aug. 17.
The Fever’s next game is Friday at home versus Minnesota, with the teams playing again two nights later in Minneapolis. Clark won’t be back for either of those matchups, and it appears no one knows when she’ll return to action.
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