Caitlin Clark breaks silence on Fever injury and deals fans sensibly annoying news

Caitlin Clark broke her silence concerning her left quad injury and implied no early return for the Indiana Fever’s rematch against the Chicago Sky, but could be back against the Dream on June 10

 

Caitlin Clark speaks to the media

Caitlin Clark knows that the Indiana Fever fanbase would love to see her back in uniform as soon as their Saturday rematch against the Chicago Sky. Unfortunately, the reigning league Rookie of the Year is not giving fans any hope of a rushed return from her quad injury.

The Fever star addressed the media Thursday for the first time since enduring the left quad strain that sidelined her following Indiana’s 90-88 loss to the New York Liberty in May. While her existence in street clothes, carrying babies, and appearing on the Gainbrige Fieldhouse sidelines during Pacers games has kept her name in the headlines, Clark’s words on her return timeline offered no hope to fans desperate to see her back on the floor.”I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress and I feel good. But I’m not going to rush coming back. It’s just not worth it,” Clark said. Fever Nation was hoping for a speedy recovery as the team had already begun to struggle in her absence.

The Fever are 1-2 with Clark sidelined, including an 83-77 loss to the Washington Mystics in the first game she missed.

The Fever got revenge on the same Mystics days later led by a 24-point performance from Kelsey Mitchell, but not before losing two straight without Clark, including a loss to the Connecticut Sun, formerly led by Fever head coach Stephanie White.

Clark still leads the Fever in points (19.0), assists (9.3), and steals (1.3) per game despite missing three straight.

Mitchell is scoring 17.4 PPG and Aliyah Boston’s MVP-level season have helped steady the ship, but the void at point guard has been clear. Backup guard Sydney Colson has replaced Clark in three games, averaging 2.5 points and 1.5 assists.

Initial reports indicated that Clark would be out for at least two weeks of the WNBA season, but she told reporters that she might return for the Fever’s June 10 matchup against the Atlanta Dream.

Indiana has split wins against the Dream in two contests already this season, making the primetime ESPN matchup at Gateway Center a highly anticipated game on the calendar.

Clark told reporters that her focus on the sidelines is to be a consistent and. supportive voice for her teammates.

‘”When you’re out there playing, and actually in the heat of the moment, you don’t always realize everything,” she said. “You see things from a different perspective that maybe the coaching staff didn’t see.”Caitlin Clark

Whether it’s being vocal on the bench during timeouts or sharing her insights from her analysis of the floor, Clark said she wants to be the “connector between the coaches and her teammates.”

The Fever face the Sky on June 7th in a rematch of their dominant season-opening 93-58 victory, and it is the only game on the schedule before Clark’s anticipated Dream return.