Caitlin Clark's Injury Status May Prompt WNBA Review

The WNBA tipped off its 30th season on the first weekend of May, and I wrote right here for Newsweek that Indiana Fever All-Star guard Caitlin Clark’s injury-riddled 2025 would, fairly or unfairly, color every little move she made this season.

So far, I’ve been proven correct.

Clark raised eyebrows when she made her way back to the tunnel to get her “back adjusted,” as she later said, during the Fever’s season-opening loss to Dallas. The 2024 No. 1 overall pick has insisted that she’s healthy and feeling great, and she hadn’t missed any time in the Fever’s first four games - averaging 24.3 points and nine assists.

So, while it felt unusual for a 24-year-old to get her back adjusted several times mid-game, it wasn’t a cause for concern.

Then, the Fever abruptly changed Clark’s injury designation about an hour before their Wednesday night game against the Portland Fire. On Tuesday, the Fever reported no injuries for the game, but suddenly, Clark was ruled out with a back injury.

Fever head coach Stephanie White told reporters that Clark hadn’t participated in Tuesday’s practice and instead received treatment for her back. After waking up Wednesday morning “with stiffness,” she was ruled out.

“It’s not the time to take a chance. We just really wanna be cautious,” White said at her pregame presser, noting that she wasn’t sure if there would be concern moving forward.

White added, “She’s healthy. We're not managing anything. This is just a back issue that we want to make sure we give the time to be ready.”

“Given White said Clark did not practice yesterday, and there was no indication Clark was dealing with an ailment until she was ruled out 100 minutes before tip tonight, would imagine this is something the league may take a look at,” ESPN’s Alexa Philippou wrote on X.

WNBA injury reports are updated in 15-minute increments throughout a game day, as seen here. The league’s official policy reads as follows:

“WNBA teams must report information concerning player injuries, illnesses, other medical conditions, or rest for all WNBA games. By 5 p.m. local time the day before a game (other than the second day of a back-to-back), teams must designate a participation status and identify a specific injury, illness, other medical condition, or other reason for any player whose participation in the game may be affected for any reason. For the second game of a back-to-back, teams must report the above information by 1 p.m. local time on the day of the game.”

Clark missed all but 13 games last season due to a quad strain suffered last May and two separate groin injuries. She last played on July 15 and was officially ruled out by the team on Sept. 4. Despite limited playing time, Clark earned her second All-Star selection.

Prior to the 2025 season, Clark had not missed a game in her four-year collegiate career at Iowa or her rookie WNBA season in Indiana. So far this season, Clark has averaged 24.3 points and 9.0 rebounds across four games.

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This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 9:45 PM.