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Fever superstar Caitlin Clark opened up about the “really frustrating days” navigating her first major injury.
During the latest installment of the “Bird’s Eye View” podcast, Clark — who has been out since July 15 with a groin injury — spoke to host and retired four-time WNBA champ Sue Bird about how she’s dealing with the physical and mental challenges of her recovery.
“There’s just been so much to manage. … Obviously, I feel like that’s been a huge part of this year,” said Clark, who has missed the last nine games with no concrete timetable for her return. “It’s just been so challenging being active and then playing four games, and then not — and then not feeling the best and then I’m frustrated about how hard I’ve worked in the offseason, and then all I do is rehab and continue through this process, and just trying to trust that the best I can.
“Obviously, there are really frustrating days and there are days where it’s a little bit easier and you’re very motivated and you’re close to the finish line of getting back and being back.
“It’s not like I have a training camp to build up to play in my first game again. It’s like no, you’re tossed into game 30 — like, ‘Go try to play well.’ It’s hard, it really is.”
Clark, 23, missed time for a groin injury in late June and returned to action in early July, only to be sidelined again after re-injuring her groin later that month.
She recalled feeling confused when she began feeling pain from her groin injury.
“I think it has given me really good perspective on what a lot of my teammates and teams I’ve been a part of [and] what certain people have had to go through,” she said. “I’ve never been through anything like this. I think that’s probably why it’s been so hard, because I’ve never really dealt with injury.
“And that’s probably been a challenge in itself because when I was first feeling pain, I didn’t understand it? I was like, ‘Am I just getting tight? Am I just getting old? Do I need to hit a stretch? Do I need to get rubbed out? Do I need some Icy Hot? What’s going on here?”
The 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year went on to explain why she’s thankful for this experience.
“So I think it’s been a balance of understanding my body,” she said. “Whether it’s this year or whether it’s next year and even throughout my career, I’m going to be very thankful for this moment. I know this is going to help me understand my body better.”
The Iowa legend missed the 2025 WNBA All-Star festivities in Indiana last month.
Clark also missed time in May due to a left quadriceps strain.
In 13 games this season, Clark has averaged 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 8.8 assists.
The Fever (17-14) play Clark’s college rival, former LSU star Angel Reese, and the Sky (8-22) in Indianapolis on Saturday.
