Caitlin Clark to return from injury for Fever-Liberty rematch Saturday
“She’s working her way back, I feel like today was better than yesterday in terms of movement, balance,” coach Stephanie White said after practice Friday.
White also said forward Sophie Cunningham is probable to return Saturday. Cunningham has been out since May 30 with an ankle injury.
she's back 🔥
Caitlin Clark is ready to play tomorrow against New York. pic.twitter.com/tOfuyfF99M
— Indiana Fever (@IndianaFever) June 13, 2025
Clark missed five games with the injury, the first of her professional career. Indiana has gone 2-3 in her absence, including two losses to projected lottery teams, Washington and Connecticut. The arrival of backup point guard Aari McDonald on a hardship contract helped stem the tide, but the Fever struggled to be competitive in their latest 77-58 defeat to Atlanta. Nevertheless, they have risen from eighth to seventh in the WNBA standings during this stretch.
“There was imaging done to tell that my leg is okay … so I can find confidence in that that we know we weren’t able to find anything or see anything, and that was kind of my all clear,” Clark said. “Then honestly, just sprinting. As you know, change of direction and sprinting in the game of basketball, that’s the biggest part of it. So, feeling comfortable to be able to do those types of things and those types of movements. I’ve been doing that for a little bit now, and I feel really confident in that.”
Clark’s star status continues to drive ticket sales; according to data from Vivid Seats, tickets to Saturday’s game against the Liberty are now 35 percent more in demand relative to the first Indiana game against New York, where Clark suffered her injury. As of publication, the average price for Clark’s return is $276.
Saturday’s game against New York is Indiana’s penultimate Commissioner’s Cup contest. The Fever need a win (and more results to go their way Tuesday) to pass the Liberty in the cup standings and earn the Eastern Conference bid to the final.
As the Fever shore up their rotation with the returns of Clark and Cunningham, they are expected to be without veteran DeWanna Bonner against New York, who has been away from the team for personal reasons. Indiana released McDonald from her hardship contract Friday, as the team now has ten active players without her.
In her four games this season, Clark is averaging 19.0 points and 9.3 assists per game while shooting uncharacteristically low from 3-point range and the foul line (31.4 percent and 75 percent, respectively). Cunningham has chipped in 6.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
New York Liberty, Indiana Fever, WNBA, Sports Business, women's sports
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