Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark opened up about the difficulties of dealing with multiple injuries during her second season in the WNBA.
The 2024 first overall pick and rookie of the year winner has missed 18 of the Fever's 31 games this season after never having missed a game during her collegiate career and rookie WNBA season.
Speaking on WNBA legend Sue Bird's "Birds Eye View" podcast in an episode released Friday, Clark reflected on the challenges of not being able to be on the court with the team.
"I think the most challenging part of all this is... Obviously, I have the first injury, and I sit out four games and then I come back and play really well," Clark said. "I feel really good. Even just the beginning of the year, I played great. My numbers were great. I was shooting the ball well and then I get hurt.
"I was like, 'OK, gotta get healthy, whatever,' I gotta do what I can to be back where I was ... As an athlete, you're like, I don't wanna be soft. So I think that's been the hardest part, the stop-and-go of everything."
Earlier this season, Clark missed five games due to a quad injury, but has since been dealing with groin issues. Her most recent groin injury came in a win over the Connecticut Sun on July 15, and she hasn't seen the court since then.
Speaking to Bird, Clark talked about the frustration of having no set timeline for her injuries. Nevertheless, she emphasized how she is trying to be present for her teammates while going through rehab.
"Also, with the type of injuries I've dealt with, there's no real [timeline]," she said. "It's like, 'How do you feel?' Even when I have been back, I don't know how I'm gonna feel the next day after playing ... I feel like the patience of dealing with all that and giving myself a lot of grace. And trying to be the best teammate that I can.
"It's hard because I'm not at every second of practice when I've been through the early parts of rehab ... I miss being around my teammates and I miss practicing."
In 13 appearances this season, Clark averaged 16.5 points, 5 rebounds and 8.8 assists per game. The Fever are 8-5 with Clark on the court, and 9-7 without her. Indiana, which sits fifth in the league, recently went on a five-game win streak before losing their last two games.
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