Caitlin Clark dealing with groin injury again as Indiana Fever approach All-Star break

With about 40 seconds remaining in the Fever’s win over the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday, Clark walked off the floor grimacing after an assist to Kelsey Mitchell. Teammate Aliyah Boston comforted Clark as she reached for her right groin area. She was clearly in pain and was subbed out for Sydney Colson.

With such little time left, Clark never returned as the Fever won 85-77 and reached 12-10 on the season. It was just the fourth game the All-Star guard had played since returning from a different groin injury that popped up in late June. She previously dealt with a quad injury as well.

It’s been a start-and-stop season for Clark in that way, who is in year two of WNBA basketball. She has yet to play more than five games in a row this season and has suited up just 13 times in 22 chances. Injuries have limited the Iowa product — and the Indiana Fever as a team. Per PBPStats, the Fever are nearly six points per 100 possessions better with Clark on the floor than off.

Now, the team braces for the news on her latest injury. Indiana faces the New York Liberty on a back-to-back Wednesday night in their final game before All-Star weekend in Indianapolis, which begins in just a few days.

“No update. Just felt a little something in her groin. We’ll get it evaluated and see what happens from there,” Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White said when asked about Clark’s injury postgame. A follow up question asked if it was Clark’s right groin that was the issue. “Yeah, that’s the one she was grabbing at,” White clarified.

Clark is averaging 16.5 points and 8.8 assists per game for Indiana this season. Even with numerous injuries impacting her season, she’s been able to be the engine of the WNBA’s third-best offense. If she misses time, the Fever will need more from Aari McDonald and Mitchell when it comes to initiating offense.

With the Fever playing later tonight, Clark is officially listed as out against the Liberty. The team cancelled its previously scheduled shootaround in New York on Wednesday morning, so the next update on Clark’s long-term status will be from White’s pregame at the Barclays Center.

Indiana is currently in the busiest section of their schedule this season, and their biggest break in the action from June 14 until now was supposed to be at the beginning of July. But the Fever earned a spot in the Commissioner’s Cup title game and ended up playing the Minnesota Lynx on July 1. Clark was absent that night, but it’s still been a demanding stretch for the Fever. Every team in the league is playing 44 games this season — four more than last year.

“Everyone around the league, their body is tired. Everyone is sore,” Fever wing Sophie Cunningham said Tuesday night after the win over the Sun.

After Wednesday night’s game, the next scheduled action for Clark would be All-Star weekend in Indianapolis. That’s where the Indiana Fever play, and there is excitement about seeing Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell on the All-Star stage at home. Clark was announced as a participant in the three-point contest earlier this week, too.

That contest is Friday night, and the All-Star game is the following day. Clark’s status is currently unknown for both events, and her injury certainly makes it unclear if she will be available.

After All-Star events, the Fever’s next game is Tuesday, July 22 in New York against the Liberty.