PHOENIX — Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark has not done any practices with contact yet, coach Stephanie White said following shootaround on Tuesday.
Clark, who has been out with a right groin injury since July 16, started doing limited activities with the team Aug. 22 ahead of Indiana’s game at Minnesota. Since then, she has done non-contact shooting drills and 5-on-0 full-court runs in the Fever’s shootarounds and walkthroughs before games. And she hasn’t been able to do much more than that.
“No, she’s just been doing shooting and mostly individual stuff,” White said when asked if Clark has been doing contact in practices during their road trip.
The Fever have been especially careful with her return from this injury considering that she has been limited to 13 games this year with four separate muscle injuries. The training staff wants to make sure she is fully healed, first off, and then not overcompensating with other muscles in her return to play regimen.
Working through contact in practices is something that is paramount for Clark to return to the court. White said ahead of the Fever’s road trip that Clark doesn’t necessarily need practices with the full team in able to do contact work, but she wants to see her build up some endurance in live practice situations.
“I want to see her in practice, live in practice,” White said on Aug. 26. “Want to see her continue to work to not just build endurance, but to be able to handle contact 94 feet as it’s going to be in-game, and to be able to do that and sustain it from an endurance standpoint, and that’s going to take multiple practices to make sure that there’s no regression. And as most of us know, when we get fatigued, we look different, and see how she plays through fatigue.”
Now, there’s only a week left in the regular season. The Fever have four games left before a potential playoff push: Tuesday at Phoenix, Friday against Chicago, Sunday at Washington, and Sept. 9 against Minnesota.
There are going to be minimal practice opportunities in this final week, especially as the coaching staff will likely want to prioritize rest as the team gears up for the playoffs. And considering Clark hasn’t even returned to contact practices yet, it seems like an uphill climb for Clark to return to the court before the regular season is over.
White is still holding out hope for Clark’s return. But she’s also looking at the long-term outlook.
“That’s the hope,” White said when asked if the coaching staff anticipates Clark to return in the regular season. “She’s working as hard as she can to make sure that she is is coming back, or is capable of coming back. You know, again, I think that the long term viewpoint of her health and wellness is the most important thing.”
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@gannett.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark injury update: Indiana Fever star hasn’t started practices with contact
Reporting by Chloe Peterson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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