Caitlin Clark injury update: Fever star nearing return to court, but says she won't 'rush coming back'

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark spoke to reporters Thursday for the first time since she suffered the left quad strain that has kept her off the court since May 24. Clark said she'll be re-evaluated this weekend, and could return as soon as June 10 vs. the Atlanta Dream, but did not make any guarantees. 

"I'll miss this weekend's game, but after that it's day-by-day and see how I feel and turn to the medical staff and what they think," Clark said. "Feel like I've made a lot of progress and I feel good. I'm not gonna rush coming back, it's just not worth it. But yeah after this weekend I'll be re-evaluated and we'll have a better idea of when I'll return."

Clark said the team doesn't want to put out an exact date for her return because her injury is "kind of a day-to-day thing."

"This type of injury, you don't know," Clark said. "When I wake up I'll feel different than the day before. We'll see. It could be a possibility, but I could also not be available [vs. the Dream]." 

Clark was injured at some point during the Fever's two-point loss to the New York Liberty -- she turned the ball over 10 times in that game, including on the final play, and shot 2 of 11 from 3-point range -- but said she could not recall the specific moment when it happened. 

"Adrenaline covers up a lot of stuff when you're in the heat of battle, and after the game, I had some pain, then we got an MRI, and it gave me the result I didn't want to see," Clark said. 

Fever vs. Mystics takeaways: Indiana gets first win since Caitlin Clark injury as Kelsey Mitchell steps up

Jack Maloney

Fever have struggled without Clark

The Fever announced on Memorial Day that Clark would be out for a minimum of two weeks. She has missed three games thus far, and will also sit out on Saturday when the Fever take on the Chicago Sky on CBS (8 p.m. ET tip-off). 

Without Clark, the Fever looked like a mess in their first two games, which they lost to the Washington Mystics and previously-winless Connecticut Sun. They bounced back on Tuesday, however, and defeated the Mystics in a rematch to snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 3-4 on the season. 

While she's been sidelined, Clark has focused on being the same "voice" for her teammates that she is on the court. She's also tried to share her "unique perspective" whenever possible. 

"When you're out there playing and in the heat of the moment you don't always realize everything, you don't always see everything," Clark said. "You see things from a different perspective that maybe the coaching staff didn't see, so it's certainly different. I'm trying to be that connector between my coaches and my teammates, whether that's in the locker room at halftime, whether that's during timeouts." 

Clark: Injury has 'taught me a lot'

Prior to this injury, Clark had not missed a game since high school. She played in every possible game during her collegiate career at Iowa and the first 46 games of her professional career with the Fever. When she sat out against the Mystics on May 28, it snapped a streak of 185 consecutive games played. 

Fever coach Stephanie White said after Clark's diagnosis that she hoped the time off could be a learning experience for her point guard. On Thursday, Clark confirmed that is has been. 

"It's taught me a lot," Clark said. "I've never been in that position before of actually getting to watch from the bench for an extended period of time. I think you can learn the basketball the same amount. It's the same as you turn on the TV and you watch the NBA or other WNBA games, that's the best way to learn basketball. Just watch and absorb it, and it's the same when I'm not out there."

Despite some streaky 3-point shooting, Clark was electric to start her sophomore campaign. She recorded a triple-double in the Fever's season-opening win over the Chicago Sky, and was averaging 19 points, six rebounds and a league-leading 9.3 assists per game. 

The Fever won't rush Clark back before she's 100% healthy, but the sooner that point arrives, the better for a team that has title expectations this season.