While Caitlin Clark recorded another career milestone during her 20-point performance in the Indiana Fever’s 107-104 season-opening loss to the Dallas Wings on May 9 from Gainbridge Fieldhouse, there is some growing concern that the former Iowa women’s basketball legend could already be dealing with an ailment.
Although the former Hawkeye fueled the Fever’s third-quarter offensive resurgence, she was seen numerous times in the third and fourth quarters on the ABC broadcast receiving attention from team trainers, with Holly Rowe reporting that she was getting work done on her “hip flexor and groin area.”
Saturday was Clark’s first regular-season WNBA game since July 2025, when she suffered a right groin injury against the Connecticut Sun that eventually kept her out for the remainder of the season and playoffs. Given that this was the same area of concern on Saturday, fans and media inquired about Clark’s status in the team’s postgame media availability.
When asked about the validity of Holly Rowe’s reports on the reasoning for the in-game treatments to Clark, head coach Stephanie White said, “That would be the first time I’ve heard that.”
“I think it’s just part of maintaining the body,” White added on the topic of Clark’s tunnel trips. “… I mean, look, when we’re all really young, we don’t learn proper mechanics, and then it doesn’t get exposed until something happens, and we’re trying to get her body mechanically the way it needs to go. This is gonna be an ongoing thing, and not just her. We’ve had multiple players who have gone back, and we don’t have a blue tent, right, but they’re gonna go back and get it adjusted and make sure that the body’s working.”
The Indiana Fever team communications staff also confirmed that they did not provide an official update to ABC on why Clark left the court for the tunnel, so everything reported on the broadcast regarding that topic should be considered speculative at this time.
However, Clark was also seen wearing a heated therapy pad on her back around the same time as the reported training staff treatments, which she said in her postgame comments was just to get her back readjusted and didn’t report any significant issues with her back.
“It gets out of line pretty quickly,” Clark said. “It’s just that, getting my back put back in place a little bit, but other than that, I feel great.”
As with her wearing a leg sleeve during team practice earlier this week, wearing a heated therapy pad does not necessarily directly correlate with an injury.
Head coach Stephanie White confirmed to the media that the back issues were nothing of long-term concern by stating it shouldn’t keep Clark out of future games and that the former Hawkeye would not have played over 30 minutes on Saturday if the star guard was laboring.
“We wouldn’t have played her 30 minutes if she wasn’t OK,” White said.
Fortunately for the Fever, the team’s next game is not until May 13 against the Los Angeles Sparks from crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Calif., so Clark can use the three days’ rest to address any areas of concern with the team trainers.
That game against the Sparks is scheduled to tip off at 9:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on the USA Network.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: ‘I feel great’: Caitlin Clark clears air on any injuries
Reporting by Scout Springgate, Hawkeyes Wire / Hawkeyes Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
