Caitlin Clark to miss at least two weeks with left quad strain: What we know and reaction from Fever practice
After never missing a game in college or the pros, Caitlin Clark will be sidelined for the first time after being diagnosed with a left quad strain. The Indiana Fever must now lean on their depth.
The Indiana Fever will be without Caitlin Clark for at least the next two weeks. The team announced on Monday that she has suffered a left quadriceps strain and will be sidelined.
That means Clark will miss at least the next four games. Two of those, including a road game in Washington and one in Chicago, had been moved to significantly larger venues to accommodate soaring demand to see her in action:
May 28 at Washington
May 30 vs Connecticut
June 3 vs Washington
June 7 at Chicago
It’s unclear when the injury occurred, but Clark experienced discomfort and underwent an MRI on Saturday, following their loss to the Liberty.
“Sometimes great players don't tell you when they're hurting,” head coach Stephanie White said after practice on Monday. “I'm glad that she did because we need to nip this in the bud.”
This isn’t the first time Clark has dealt with a similar issue.
She sat out the first of three preseason games due to an injury in the same area, on the same leg. “Just a little tightness,” she said back on May 3. That injury limited her time in training camp and led her to apply a heat pack to the area before and during games, as well as ride an elliptical to keep it loose.
“This is a different injury,” White clarified.
The next day, Clark played 19 minutes in a showcase exhibition game back at Iowa — her first game in 222 days after a long offseason away from competition.
“You can play pickup, you can do workouts, you can do practice — all of that,” she said. “But there's nothing like getting to put on your uniform and going out here and getting to compete with your teammates and play for the Fever and play in front of these amazing fans. There's really nothing like that. Nothing can really emulate that. So when you get opportunities like these, you don't take them for granted.”
With the quad not fully healthy, it’s like a loose wire in an electrical circuit — everything must be connected for optimal performance. At Clark’s level, she needs her nerves fully firing and muscles fully engaged.
Therefore, it may have had an impact on her shooting as well
She’s made just 11-of-35 shots from beyond the arc this season, missing 14 of her last 16 attempts. In a win at Atlanta on May 22, she went 0-for-5 — the first time she failed to make a 3-pointer in a game since 2022.
Rest is essential, but so is rehab. This type of injury requires both muscle activation and time to heal properly.