Caitlin Clark is out of All-Star weekend, as the Indiana Fever guard injured her right groin on Tuesday night in the final minute of the team’s win over the Connecticut Sun. She said Thursday that she had to rest her body.
“I am incredibly sad and disappointed to say I can’t participate in the 3-Point Contest or the All-Star Game,” Clark said in the message posted by the Fever. “I have to rest my body. I will still be at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for all the action, and I’m looking forward to helping (Liberty coach Sandy Brondello) coach our team to a win.”
Clark was supposed to compete in a loaded 3-point contest Friday night and is a captain of one of the All-Star teams. The second-year guard was the leading vote-getter from the fans and has been a huge reason the league has had a boon in attendance and ratings over the last two seasons.
Washington Mystics guard Brittney Sykes and Atlanta Dream forward Brionna Jones were announced as replacements for the All-Star Game by WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. The pair replace Clark and Phoenix’s Satou Sabally.
The league didn’t announce a replacement yet for Clark in the 3-point contest on Friday night.
Clark sat out the team’s 98-77 loss against New York. Fever coach Stephanie White said Clark had imaging done Wednesday and deferred to the team’s training staff for more details except to say that she considered it good news.
Clark got hurt with under a minute left. She walked downcourt holding her right groin after assisting on the Fever’s final basket. As teammate Aliyah Boston tried to console her, Clark walked to the basket stanchion and banged her head against it before heading to the bench. During the timeout, she covered her head with a towel and appeared to be holding back tears.
Clark had been durable throughout college and in her first season in the WNBA, having never missed a game. Now, she’s had four different muscle injuries so far this year.
She missed the preseason opener with tightness in her quad but played the next day in an exhibition game at her alma mater, Iowa. She suffered a quad strain against New York on May 24 that kept her out for five games. Clark returned June 14 and played in five games before suffering another injury to her left groin that kept her out for four contests and the Commissioner’s Cup final.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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