Just as the Indiana Fever fans had their hopes up with star guard Caitlin Clark showing her past form in the first three games, a big setback came two hours before Wednesday’s game against the Portland Fire.
The Fever announced that Caitlin Clark will be out of Wednesday’s game at home in Indianapolis with back issues she seemed to be dealing with in the last two games. As of now, the Fever have not specified how long Clark will be out. Nor were more details provided about the seriousness of her injury.
However, it has left fans worried as Clark had just returned full-fledged to the court after spending most of last season on the bench nursing injuries. And, since coming back, she has been critical to the Fever’s form, averaging 24.3 points and 9 assists per game.
Here, we will take a look at her back issues, when they started, and how they possibly got worse.
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Caitlin Clark Back Issues: What’s Wrong With Her?
Caitlin Clark’s back issues first emerged in the first WNBA regular season game against the Dallas Wings, which the Fever lost 107-104. Clark featured 30 minutes in the game, scoring a crucial 20 points. But she had to leave the court for the backroom twice during the game for back issues.
But Clark came back and finished the game. And, after that, featured in the Fever practice regularly, playing the three subsequent games against the LA Sparks, Washington Mystics and the Seattle Storm. Except for the Dallas loss and the overtime loss to the Mystics, Clark and the Fever have shown great form so far.
And in all those games, Clark has had no injury problems, meaning he has finally started hoping for a strong season for the 24-year-old. But into the fifth game of the season, that hope among Fever fans seems shaken.
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What Indiana Fever And Caitlin Clark Said About Back Issues
When Caitlin Clark first faced the back issues in the game against the Wings, she had said to IndyStar sports reporter Chloe Peterson that the trip to the backroom was to get her back “adjusted.” Peterson reported that Clark had expressed concern that the injury could “get out of line pretty quickly.”
When Fever coach Stephanie White was asked about the injury in the post-match conference after the Dallas Wings game, she had denied that it was anything serious.
“She has adjusted her body,” White had said. “When we’re all really young, we don’t learn proper mechanics. And it doesn’t get exposed until something happens. Trying to get her body, mechanically, the way that it needs to go.”
“This is going to be an ongoing thing. Not just her,” she added.
