Caitlin Clark last played in a basketball game in July for the Indiana fever.
The point guard’s inactive period will end this week during the FIBA World Cup qualifying tournament with USA Basketball in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The U.S. team is scheduled to play five games starting March 11 against Senegal.
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“It’ll probably take me a second to shake off some of the rust,” Clark said over Zoom from the USA Basketball camp in Miami. “I’ll probably be a little nervous, which is usually not the case, but that will probably come from the fact that, you know, I haven’t really played basketball in a while. I’m sure after the first minute of running around the court, I’ll be fine. But more than anything, I’m just really excited.”
Clark injured her right groin against the Connecticut Sun in Boston last July, three days before the WNBA All-Star break. She never returned as the Fever advanced to the WNBA semifinals with her cheering from the bench.
Limited to 13 games in 2025, Clark suffered a quad injury in training camp, a separate strain in the same quad a week into the season before injuring his left groin in June and right groin in July. She sprained her ankle in August while recovering from a groin injury.
Clark spent the start of the offseason rehabbing her groin and ankle injuries and told USA Basketball camp in December that she was 100 percent healthy. But she didn’t have the opportunity to play 5v5 against an opponent, only in training.
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“It’s definitely been a while since I’ve played a game,” Clark said. “Obviously, I played in the camp we had in December and then did everything I could to simulate as many live games in practice and restart and so on. But nothing really mimics that type of environment.”
After eight months, Clark will be back on the field. And she feels better than ever.
“I know how much work and how much time I put in to make sure my body is as healthy as possible, and to get back to a point where not only do I feel like myself, but I feel like I’m even better than where I was at the start of last season,” Clark said. “I started the season really well before I got injured and I tried to play through that injury. So more than anything, I’m just excited to be out there, to be around a lot of really good players.”
This article was originally published on USA TODAY: Fever’s Caitlin Clark counts down to first game in eight months
