Caitlin Clark will be on injury report moving forward, Stephanie White says
· Yahoo Sports
Guard Caitlin Clark is listed as probable for the Indiana Fever's matchup against the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday and her appearance on the injury report will likely be a familiar sight moving forward.
During a media availability on Thursday, Fever head coach Stephanie White confirmed Clark will be listed as probable on the injury report for the foreseeable future as she navigates an ongoing back issue. The decision came after the WNBA ultimately issued the Fever a warning after Clark was a late scratch in the Fever's 90-73 victory over the Portland Fire on May 20 due to stiffness and soreness in her back.
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“Just to make sure that there’s clarity and no issues with league policy, I think that we will (list Clark as probable)," White said on Thursday. "You can expect to see it probable going forward.”
MORE: Caitlin Clark explains decision to sit out Fever game
Clark alluded to being a permanent fixture on the injury report after questions were raised about her health and the Fever's handling of her reported injury. She wasn't listed on the injury report before being ruled out shortly ahead of tipoff against the Fire on May 20, as required by the league.
"At this point, maybe I'll need to be listed as soreness on every injury report," Clark said on Friday, May 22. "If I don't feel a hundred percent confident in my body on game five of the year, I don't know if that's really worth it in that scenario ... I'm sore. That's just the reality of it."
After missing her first game of the season, Clark returned to the lineup May 22 and recorded 22 points and nine assists in the Fever's 90-82 win over the Valkyries. She said she "felt great the day after the game."
The Fever had five days in between their games against the Valkyries to practice and recover, which Clark called "an important stretch for us obviously to get our bodies feeling great."
"This is a rare opportunity. You don't always get in the WNBA to be able to practice and really work on things," Clark said on Wednesday. "We had a hard practice yesterday and competed a lot, played our guys a lot, played versus each other. So Stephanie (White) just really preaches, don't take these moments for granted. We have things we still need to improve on and that's certainly what we've been doing."
Is Caitlin Clark playing today?
Clark is listed as probable for Thursday's matchup agains the Golden State Valkyries.
What happened to Caitlin Clark's back?
It's not clear when Caitlin Clark first injured her back, but she's been dealing with discomfort since the first game of the season. She temporarily exited the Fever's 107-104 season-opening loss to the Dallas Wings on May 9 and returned from the locker room with a wrap around her back. Clark revealed she left the court to get her "back adjusted" midgame because it "gets out of line pretty quickly."
Fever coach Stephanie White said it's going to be an "ongoing thing" this season for clark, who was limited to 13 games last season due to multiple soft tissue injuries.
"It’s part of maintaining the body.... when we're all really young, we don’t learn proper mechanics, and it doesn't get exposed until something happens," White said on May 9. "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."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Caitlin Clark injury update: Fever guard probable with back issue