Fever’s Caitlin Clark ramping up for return but out Tuesday

• Alexa PhilippouJun 9, 2025, 02:21 PM ET

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  • Covers women’s college basketball and the WNBA
  • Previously covered UConn and the WNBA Connecticut Sun for the Hartford Courant
  • Stanford graduate and Baltimore native with further experience at the Dallas Morning News, Seattle Times and Cincinnati Enquirer

Caitlin Clark will miss Tuesday’s game against the Atlanta Dream, Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White told reporters Monday.

It will be the fifth consecutive game Clark has been out after suffering a quad strain May 24 against the New York Liberty. The team initially said on May 26 that she would be sidelined at least two weeks with the injury; it’s the first time she has missed game action across her collegiate and professional careers.

Clark said Thursday that, after being reevaluated over the weekend, she could possibly return for Tuesday’s tilt but that she would not rush back. White said on Monday that Clark is “ready to start ramping back up” and has been allowed to participate in some, but not all, of practice.

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“We’re going to be smart, and we’re going to be cautious and we’re going to play the long game and work her back in very intentionally,” White said.

The same goes for Sophie Cunningham, who has been limited to just four games this season due to an ankle injury that she aggravated at the end of May. White said that Cunningham was also limited in Monday’s practice.

After facing Atlanta on Tuesday, the Fever don’t play again until Saturday, when they host the Liberty — giving the team ample practice time to see whether Clark and Cunningham are inching closer to their returns.

“I think for us, we’ve got to work both [Clark] and Sophie back into … are they in basketball condition, what does it mean to go live?” White said. “It’s one thing to do some shooting drills; it’s another thing to get out there on the floor, get back into movement patterns, rhythm, timing. [We’re] picking and choosing the things they can be in practice so we can see their progression.

“Both of them being out for long periods of time, you’ve got to work your way back into being game-ready.”