Caitlin Clark injury update: Fever star still not playing 5-on-5, expects to compete with Team USA in March

Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White told the Indy Star that Caitlin Clark has still not progressed to playing 5-on-5, and that the team is taking her rehab "slowly" during the offseason to ensure that she has a "good foundation so she's not having any setbacks or any regression."

After a historic rookie campaign, Clark was limited to 13 games during her sophomore season due to an array of injuries. The issues started in training camp when she was forced to sit out of a preseason game due left quad tightness, and never subsided. 

She dealt with a left quad strain, left groin and right groin strains, as well as a bone bruise on her left ankle, which occurred while she was rehabbing the right groin problem. "My ankle didn't allow me to really see where my groin was at," Clark said during her exit interview earlier this month. 

Clark, who missed the Commissioner's Cup championship, All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis and the Fever's run to the semifinals in the playoffs, worked as hard as possible to make a return, but was ultimately ruled out for good on Sept 4. Once that decision was made, there was no reason to push the envelope with her recovery. That's even more true now that the season is over. 

"We're not jumping into anything that's too much," White said. "We have the ability to right now take it on week-by-week basis, doing some 3-on-3, doing some 2-on-2, building into 5-on-5. Her being able to play in game-like situations is going to be important. It's been a long time building back into that, but it is October, and she needs to be able to slowly build back so, from an endurance standpoint, she's laying a really good foundation so she's not having any setbacks or any regression."

Indiana Fever offseason outlook: Where does Caitlin Clark's team go after injury-riddled, resilient season?

Jack Maloney

During her injury-riddled season, Clark never played more than five games in a row, and was rarely, if ever, fully healthy when she was on the floor. Aside from a few big performances, including a triple-double on opening day, she didn't look like her usual self. Though her counting stats -- 16.5 points, five rebounds and 8.8 assists -- were still impressive, she shot 36.7% from the field, including 27.9% from 3-point range, and had three games without a 3, something that previously hadn't happened since her sophomore season at Iowa. 

"I would never speak for Caitlin, but it's frustrating as an athlete to go through injury, when you're not able to do what you love to do," White said. "Certainly, having setbacks, then working your way back, then having another setback, all of that is frustrating.

"... While it's frustrating, it's important that we get her back at 100% and that she's comfortable, she's confident, that she's healthy, and that we can move forward in a way that continues to build for her career and her franchise."

Clark will not be playing in Unrivaled this offseason, and has also passed on Athletes Unlimited, another domestic offseason league. Nor will she be going overseas, even though the offers would surely be lucrative. Instead, she said during her exit interview that her "main focus" during the winter is "really just getting my body healthy."

Clark does want to suit up for Team USA in the spring, however. Though the Americans have already qualified for the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup, they will still participate in a qualifying tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico from March 11-17. Assuming Clark is selected for the team, those games will be the first time she sees real game action since July 15. 

In order to make sure she's ready by then, the Fever will not skip any steps over the next weeks and months. 

"Just as much as being on the floor and working skillset and working on movement patterns, is rhythm and timing and balance and all of those things," White said. "Now, instead of working on one to two things at a time, now it's three to four things at a time. Now we've got decision-making and live-action, we've got staying on balance, we've got changing direction, we've got explosiveness, all of these things, and oh by the way, at 90-100%, instead of 50-60-70%. It will take some time, but we do have that opportunity right now to begin to lay that foundation."