Caitlin Clark’s latest injury update suggests the Indiana Fever star will play on Friday night against the Golden State Valkyries. She’s listed as probable, which means she has a 75% chance of playing. Clark would make her return from a one-game absence if she suits up. It’s been a controversial two days surrounding her injury status after the Fever ruled her out an hour before Wednesday’s clash against the Portland Fire due to a sore back.
The Fever faced scrutiny for the last-minute change to their injury report as Clark had been dealing with back issues since opening day. She took multiple trips to the locker room to get treatment. Clark played four consecutive games despite that. However, she wasn’t active in Tuesday’s practice.
Moreover, Caitlin Clark experienced back stiffness and soreness in the morning of the game, but wasn’t on the injury report at 5 pm local time. According to WNBA reporter Alexa Philippou, the league reportedly warned the Fever to make proper injury designations after this controversy.
The Indiana Fever ensured they complied and kept Caitlin Clark on the injury report with a probable designation.
Indiana will hope she returns as the Valkyries are one of the tougher opponents this season. Clark is leading the team in points and assists per game, while she’s third in rebounds, averaging 24.3 ppg. 9.0 apg and 5.0 rpg on 42.5% field goal and 32.4 % 3-point shooting.
Caitlin Clark gets real about her injury issues in 2025
Amid Caitlin Clark’s recent back injury troubles, she spoke at length about her health issues in 2025 during an interview with Goldman Sachs’ John Mallory on Thursday. Clark admitted she didn’t always prioritize her body as much after not facing injuries during his five-year college tenure and playing nearly 40 minutes a game.
“Well, it’s certainly not anything I’ve ever been through before,” Clark said. “That was, like, my claim to fame is like I was always healthy. I didn’t miss a single game in college. I would play, like, 40 minutes a night. And then going into the training camp, I kind of hurt my quad at the beginning of training camp. And I really like never got back to 100 percent health after that and dealt with some other injuries.”
She added:
Looking back now, I think it’s going to be something that’s going to be really beneficial for me. When you become a professional athlete, like this is like what makes you money. So, you have to be able to take care of it the best you can. And I probably didn’t always prioritize that. I always thought, like, oh, I can just show up to the gym. I’d like tie my shoes and I’d be ready to go. And it doesn’t really always work like that. So, I think that was a good learning lesson.”
Caitlin Clark’s comments indicate that she will likely manage her workload more due to her issues in 2025 and will rest for a few games. It could be one of the reasons why she sat out Wednesday’s game.
