LOS ANGELES — Caitlin Clark is hoping to make a return from her back injury on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Sparks, she said ahead of Indiana Fever practice on Tuesday morning.
But don’t expect her to be back to full strength immediately.
With the Fever going into a travel back-to-back, playing Los Angeles on Wednesday and Phoenix on Thursday, she doesn’t anticipate playing both games. And even if she is back on Wednesday, it will be on a minutes restriction.
“Very hopeful for tomorrow,” Clark said. “Obviously, I think it will be difficult for me to play both this one on Wednesday then the one on Thursday , but we’ll see … just getting back into it, I would assume I’d be on a minutes restriction tomorrow, hopefully a little bit over 20 (minutes) if I’m able to go, and I feel like I will be if practice goes well today. With it being a back-to-back, it’s obviously kind of tough to get back into it, but hopefully I feel good after the game versus L.A., then be available in Vegas (on July 12), and then feel pretty positive going from there once we get back home as well.”
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Clark and the Fever are optimistic about a long-term return after this injury layoff, but as coach Stephanie White has said all season, Clark’s long-term health remains paramount.
“Whatever medical says that we need to do to make sure that she’s ready, and whatever she says that she needs to feel comfortable and confident is what we need to do.” White said. “It’s an adjustment based on who’s playing, rotations, and all that, and it’s adjustment based on how we play, but certainly, we want to make sure the message is the same, and it’s clear that her long-term health is the most important thing. So if she’s ready, she’ll play, and if we have setbacks, then we’ll reevaluate.”
Clark has not played since June 24, when she left the Fever’s game against Phoenix in the third quarter and did not return. She was on the wrong end of two hard plays in that game — the first was when she got up rubbing her back after landing on an opponent’s foot following a 3-pointer, and the second was when Phoenix forward Alyssa Thomas pushed her fist into her throat while in a scramble for the ball. The play involving Thomas was not called at the time, but she was retroactively given a flagrant 2 foul and suspended for one game.
The Fever did not say how much those two plays specifically contributed to Clark leaving the game, but she has been working through back issues the entire 2026 season. She also missed Indiana’s game against Portland on May 20 while working through her back issues.
“When you have back stiffness and things like that, it can affect a lot of other areas of your body, so it’s being able to control it and manage it the best you can,” Clark said. “I think overall, like, I feel good. I feel good about stuff we’re doing to help with it … I’m doing everything I can to be as healthy as possible. I really trust the people behind me that are helping me, and I feel good.”
Indiana’s unique schedule over the last two weeks, which has included a seven-day break over the Fourth of July week, has made it so Clark has only missed two games while rehabbing her back: June 24 against Los Angeles and July 5 against Las Vegas.
That break allowed her to get some crucial rehab on her back and to ease back into practice without the imminent threat of missing a lot of games.
“It feels kind of weird, honestly,” Clark said of the break. “It’s like you play for two straight weeks, I think we had five games in eight days or whatever it was, so you get in a groove of going from scout to scout, knowing what people are going to do, then you have some time off, and it kind of has that training camp feel, and get back into the swing of things … having missed two games it feels even longer, like I’ve had this really long break, but at the same time, get your body right, get your mind right, and get back into it.”
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.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. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: When will Caitlin Clark play again? Fever star ‘very hopeful’ to return at Los Angeles
Reporting by Chloe Peterson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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By Chloe Peterson, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
