On Wednesday, Caitlin Clark returned to the Indiana Fever lineup for the first time since suffering her back injury on June 24. While the time off gave the 24-year-old roughly two weeks to heal, she played a season-low 15 minutes in the Fever’s 106-92 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.
Yet, since the Fever have another matchup on Thursday’s schedule, WNBA fans want to know: Will Clark be back in the lineup?
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Clark Ruled Out of Phoenix Mercury Rematch
According to The Indy Star Sports’ Chloe Peterson, Clark has been ruled out for tonight’s game in Phoenix. Meanwhile, three-time All-Star Aliyah Boston is viewed as probable to return from her right lower leg injury against the Mercury.
Playing for the first time since suffering her back injury on June 24, Clark sank 4-of-12 shots for nine points against Los Angeles. She added four rebounds, four assists, and a steal while committing four turnovers and a foul. Clark’s plus-minus was a team-low -15 in a game the Fever lost by 14 points.
While Clark may have played 15 minutes last night, the plan all along was for her to miss the second game of Indiana’s back-to-back slate. Thus, she’ll miss the highly anticipated rematch between the Fever and Mercury.
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The last time these two teams squared off, Clark was on the receiving end of an uncalled fist to the throat from Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas. Clark later left the game with a back injury. Phoenix wound up winning 111-109.
After Wednesday’s loss to the Sparks, the 12-9 Fever fell into a second-place tie in the Eastern Conference with the Atlanta Dream. The New York Liberty moved to first place with a 13-9 record.
Meanwhile, the Mercury are stuck in seventh place in the Western Conference with an 8-14 record. The Fever don’t play the Mercury again this season, so the Clark-Thomas rematch will likely have to wait until next season.
Heading into Wednesday’s game, Clark had been tied with Thomas for the WNBA lead with 8.2 assists per game. Now, Clark enters Thursday’s game ranking second, with 7.9 APG, just behind Thomas, who’s still at 8.2.
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Clark also saw her scoring average slip from 21.2 PPG down to 20.5 PPG, dropping her from fourth to sixth.
Indiana’s next game arrives on Sunday against the Las Vegas Aces. Barring a setback, Clark is expected to return to the lineup.
