Caitlin Clark sidelined again with another injury heading into All-Star weekend

NEW YORK (AP) — The Indiana Fever might be without star guard Caitlin Clark again for a bit after she injured her groin Tuesday night late in a win over the Connecticut Sun.

She sat out the team's 98-77 loss against New York and her status for WNBA All-Star weekend, which Indiana is hosting, is up in the air.

Clark is supposed to compete in a loaded 3-point contest Friday night and is captain of one of the All-Star teams.

“No discussion yet about this weekend.” Indiana coach Stephanie White said. “There was imaging done, but there hasn’t been any discussion beyond tonight.”

White said that Clark's management team will figure out whether she'll be able to participate this weekend.

“For me, it’s a big deal for us to have All-Star in Indianapolis, and of course, with Caitlin being a focal point of all of that. As the coach of the Indiana Fever, it’s not a bigger deal than our long-term season, but it’s also part of the fun," White said. "Those are conversations that Caitlin will have with her group. I probably won’t be a part of those, but we’re going to support her no matter what.”

The coach said that Clark had imaging done Wednesday afternoon and deferred to the team's training staff for more details except to say that she considered it good news.

“For me, anything that we’re talking about that's still day to day is always good news for me, but that’s a layman’s viewpoint,” she said.

Clark got hurt with under a minute left. She walked downcourt holding her right groin after assisting on the Fever’s final basket. As teammate Aliyah Boston tried to console her, Clark walked to the basket stanchion and banged her head against it before heading to the bench. During the timeout, she covered her head with a towel and appeared to be holding back tears.

“Someone who continues to have setbacks from an injury standpoint ... it’s very frustrating. You feel like you’re trying to do everything that you can to put yourself in position to get past it or to move forward,” White said. “When there’s a setback, it’s mentally and emotionally tough, so of course she was upset.”

Clark had been durable throughout college and her first season in the WNBA, never missing a game. Now she's had four different muscle injuries so far this year.

She missed the preseason opener with tightness in her quad but played the next day in an exhibition game at her alma mater, Iowa. She suffered a quad strain against New York on May 24 that kept her out for five games. Clark returned June 14 and played in five games before suffering another injury to her left groin that kept her out for four contests and the Commissioner's Cup final.

“I think the biggest thing is just try to keep her in good spirits,” White said. “Had a lot of setbacks with all these little injuries. And, you know, we just had to take it one day at a time. It’s frustrating for her, I’m sure. I think for us as a staff and as a team, just try to keep her encouraged and try to keep her to stay the course.”

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