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The Indiana Fever’s abrupt announcement that Caitlin Clark would miss Wednesday night’s game against the Portland Fire with a back injury, made just over an hour before tipoff, has sparked widespread confusion.
Clark was not on the Fever’s initial injury report listed Tuesday afternoon, even though head coach Stephanie White told reporters that she missed that day’s practice and went through workouts after practice was over.
“Just woke up with some stiffness and soreness,” White said. “It’s not the time to take a chance. We just really want to be cautious.”
A Fever spokesperson told Front Office Sports that Clark was “on the court at one point” during Tuesday’s practice, which included a media availability (featuring White, Myisha Hines-Allen, Aliyah Boston, and assistant Tully Bevilaqua).
Even though Fever beat reporter Scott Agness noted pregame that Clark’s absence was “part of a strategic management plan for the season,” White claimed that the team “was not managing anything” in what was merely a back problem that needed recovery time.
Following Tuesday’s game, where the Fever defeated the Fire 90-73 without Clark, White defended the decision not to list their star guard on the initial injury report.
“Not everybody that doesn’t practice or gets a pro day is on the injury report; that happens all the time,” White said. “She wasn’t listed on the injury report earlier because we expected her to play.”
White also said she doesn’t anticipate the Fever will be fined for its Tuesday injury report. It is currently unclear whether the WNBA will take action, despite possible expectations from media members.
WNBA teams are required to provide injury reports by 5 p.m. local time the day before a game (excluding back-to-back game days), but it is common for teams to update reports closer to tip-off—for example, the Connecticut Sun did so for a Brittney Griner injury on Tuesday. A player can be listed as out, doubtful, questionable, or active.
When asked if Clark was still injured postgame, White said that she had soreness, and “if there’s anything more detailed than that, that’s the training staff.” The Fever declined to comment on the extent of communication between White and the team trainers.
In Clark’s most recent game, an 89-78 win over the Seattle Storm on Sunday, she played just 24 minutes. She also went into the locker room multiple times in the Fever’s season opener against the Wings, which she said was to get her back adjusted (she’s been spotted on the sidelines with a back brace both against the Wings and in the Fever’s preseason game at the New York Liberty).
Notably, when Clark’s Fever teammate Aliyah Boston got hurt in the third quarter of their game against the Washington Mystics, she was listed as questionable in Indiana’s first injury report against the Storm. She was later ruled out before the game. White’s reasoning there was along the lines of what she said about Clark—that it was out of precaution, and there was “no reason to really push anything.”
This is not Clark’s first rodeo with injury. In 2025, she played just 13 of the Fever’s 44 regular-season games, battling first a groin then an ankle injury.
During that season, Clark initially missed two weeks starting in May and returned for nine more games before getting hurt during a July 15 contest. She was evaluated on a “day-to-day” basis following that injury, before she officially announced that she’d miss the rest of the season on Sept. 4.
The Fever next play Friday against the Golden State Valkyries at home.
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