The Indiana Fever got center Aliyah Boston back in the starting lineup for a matchup against the Portland Fire on Wednesday, May 20, but they’ll be missing another superstar.
Fever guard Caitlin Clark has been ruled out of Indiana’s game against Portland due to her back. Clark wasn’t initially listed on the Fever’s Tuesday injury report, but the two-time All-Star popped up on the status report and was downgraded to out hours ahead of Wednesday’s tipoff. Boston was not listed and is good to go.
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Fever head coach Stephanie White said Clark “woke up with some stiffness and some soreness” in her back ahead of Wednesday’s game. Instead of practicing Tuesday, Clark received treatment on her back and went through a workout, but the team ultimately decided to err on the side of caution.
“It’s not the time to take a chance. We just really want to be cautious,” added White, who also emphatically shot down reports that the Fever are managing Clark’s load throughout the season: “Absolutely not. There’s no managing. She’s healthy. We’re not managing anything. This is just a back issue that we want to make sure we give the time to.”
More: How Caitlin Clark set a WNBA record in between games, then extended it
Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever dribbles the ball.
Clark’s back has become a growing cause for concern. She temporarily exited the Fever’s 107-104 season-opening loss to the Dallas Wings on May 9 and returned from the locker room with a wrap around her back. Clark revealed that she left the court to get her “back adjusted” mid-game because it “gets out of line pretty quickly.”
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Clark being listed on the injury report is an unwelcome, yet familiar sight to Fever fans. The superstar was limited to 13 games last season due to various injuries, but has averaged 24.3 points in 30.8 minutes through four games this year.
Here’s what we know about Clark’s injury status:
Is Caitlin Clark playing today?
No. Clark was ruled out of Wednesday’s matchup against the Portland Fire due to her back.
What happened to Caitlin Clark?
It’s not clear when Clark injured her back. She has been dealing with back discomfort since the opening game of the season, although coach Stephanie White said it was more so adjusting to corrected form than an outright injury.
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“It’s part of maintaining the body…. when we’re all really young, we don’t learn proper mechanics, and it doesn’t get exposed until something happens,” Fever coach Stephanie White said on May 9. “This is going to be an ongoing thing. And not just her. We have multiple players who have gone back − we don’t have the blue tent, but they’re going to go back and get adjusted and make sure that the body’s working.”
Caitlin Clark injury history
Here’s a look back at her injuries from the 2025 season:
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May 24, 2025: Clark suffered a left quad injury during the Fever’s 90-88 loss to the New York Liberty, where she recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists. Clark couldn’t pinpoint the specific play that caused her injury, but noted that it happened early in the contest. Clark said, “Adrenaline covers up a lot of stuff when you’re in the heat of battle. After the game, I had some pain, and then we got an MRI, and that kind of gave me the result that I didn’t want to see.” She missed the Fever’s next five games.
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June 24, 2025: Clark suffered a left groin injury in the Fever’s 94-86 win over the Seattle Storm, which resulted in Clark missing the team’s next four games. Fever coach Stephanie White said she learned of Clark’s groin injury the following night after the guard alerted team trainers of discomfort.
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July 15, 2025: Clark suffered a right groin injury in the final minute of the Fever’s 85-77 victory over the Sun at TD Garden in Boston. White later confirmed Clark “felt a little something in her groin.” This marked the last game Clark suited up for in 2025.
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Aug. 7, 2025: Clark reportedly suffered a mild bone bruise in her left ankle during an individual workout session in Phoenix, according to The Indianapolis Star, part of the USA TODAY Network.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Caitlin Clark injury update: Fever guard ruled out Wednesday
