UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- The Indiana Fever hope superstar Caitlin Clark returns from her groin injury before the end of the regular season, according to coach Stephanie White.
Asked Sunday before the Fever's game against the Connecticut Sun whether she anticipates Clark to return by the end of the regular season, White responded: "That's the hope. The hope is that she's back."
Clark has missed the last month with a right groin injury she suffered in the final minute of the Fever's July 15 game against the Sun. The 2024 No. 1 pick and first-team all-WNBA selection was previously sidelined this summer with a left quad and left groin injury, altogether appearing in just 13 contests in her sophomore campaign.
In her limited time, Clark has averaged 16.5 points, 8.8 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game.
The Fever put no timeline on her return, and White has continued to reiterate that the organization does not want to rush Clark back, even after losing fellow point guards Aari McDonald and Sydney Colson to season-ending injuries last week.
"The experience throughout the year, trying to come back and come back quickly, has also taught her that she needs to make sure that she's 100 percent," White said. "Yes, every competitor wants to play, but at the same time doing it the right way and making sure, after we've had a couple of setbacks, that we're prioritizing her long-term health and wellness is the most important thing."
Clark has typically traveled with the team on road trips but did not make it out to Connecticut for undisclosed reasons.
The Fever brought in guards Odyssey Sims and Kyra Lambert after McDonald and Colson went down, but Indiana has dropped its past two games, both at home against squads in the bottom four of the standings. Indiana (18-16) currently sits in seventh place with 10 regular-season games remaining, teetering close to losing out on a playoff spot with the postseason kicking off Sept. 14.
"We have great leadership in that locker room," White said on how the Fever have handled adversity. "This group is tight. They're connected. They stay together.
"I think, for us, reiterating we've got to be where our feet are. We can't look too far behind us. We can't look too far in front of us. We've got to make sure that we're focused on one day at a time."
Against the last-place Sun, Sims will replace Lexie Hull in the starting lineup, White said. The coach is hoping that after adjusting to the absence of McDonald and Colson and integrating Sims and Lambert, her team can find a new stride.
"Every time that there's an adjustment that has to be made with particularly a player going down, and now with two going down, it takes a little bit of time," White said. "If it's your primary ball handlers, I think it takes a little bit of time and practice. So I think there is another gear that we can get to."