Caitlin Clark injury update: Fever superstar briefly left game vs. Wings

Caitlin Clark is already dealing with a potential injury one game into the WNBA season.

On Saturday, the Indiana Fever guard opened up her 2026 season against the Dallas Wings. Clark, who was struggling early, began to heat up in the third quarter. The former Rookie of the Year was up to 16 points when she checked out at the 3:01 mark of the period and briefly headed up the tunnel to the locker room.

ESPN's Holly Rowe reported that Clark was on a trainer's table, being worked on by staff, before she later returned to the bench. As Clark walked up to the Fever bench, she put on a wrap around her back and sat down next to teammate Lexie Hull.

"Just getting my back adjusted. Gets out of line pretty quickly. Other than that, I feel great," Clark said postgame.

Before checking back in at the 17.6 mark of the third, Clark took off her wrap at the last second, handing it off to Fever stafer. Moments later, Clark took the ball up the court for the final possession and scored with 1.4 seconds left. She spun around former Fever teammate Odyssey Sims for an easy layup.Clark scored 18 points on 50% shooting, five assists and four rebounds ahead of the fourth quarter.

"It’s part of maintaining the body. As she has adjusted her body and focused on – look, when we're all really young, we don’t learn proper mechanics, and it doesn't get exposed until something happens," Fever coach Stephanie White said.

"This is going to be an ongoing thing. And not just her. We have multiple players who have gone back − we don't have the blue tent, but they're going to go back and get adjusted and make sure that the body's working. 

"We wouldn’t have played her 30 minutes if she wasn’t OK." 

At the beginning of the final period, Clark went back to the locker room again. She was not on the bench to start the final quarter, but later checked in at the 9:09 mark.

Clark finished with 20 points, seven assists, and five rebounds against the Wings.

Caitlin Clark injury history

Here's a look back at the injuries from the 2025 season:

• May 2, 2025: Clark popped up on the injury report with a left leg injury. She described the injury as "just a little tightness" on May 3 and went through warmups with the team before the Fever's medical staff pulled her for the preseason opener.
• May 24, 2025: Clark suffered a left quad injury during the Fever's 90-88 loss to the New York Liberty, where she recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists. Clark couldn't pinpoint the specific play that caused her injury, but noted that it happened early in the contest. Clark said, "Adrenaline covers up a lot of stuff when you're in the heat of battle. After the game, I had some pain, and then we got an MRI, and that kind of gave me the result that I didn't want to see." She missed the Fever's next five games.
• June 24, 2025: Clark suffered a left groin injury in the Fever's 94-86 win over the Seattle Storm, which resulted in Clark missing the team's next four games. Fever coach Stephanie White said she learned of Clark's groin injury the following night after Clark alerted team trainers of discomfort.
• July 15, 2025: Clark suffered a right groin injury in the final minute of the Fever's 85-77 victory over the Sun at TD Garden in Boston. White later confirmed Clark "felt a little something in her groin." This marked the last game Clark suited up.
• Aug. 7, 2025: Clark reportedly suffered a mild bone bruise in her left ankle during an individual workout session in Phoenix, according to The Indianapolis Star, part of the USA TODAY Network.