ESPN Provides Crucial Context for Caitlin Clark Season Ending Decision
Every women's basketball fan knows by now that Indiana Fever superstar guard Caitlin Clark won't be taking to the court for the remainder of the 2025 WNBA season.
Everybody also knows that this is the byproduct of a groin injury that Clark suffered during a July 15 game against the Connecticut Sun. What's more, this wasn't the first soft tissue injury No. 22 dealt with at that point in the season, as she also missed time because of quad and groin ailments.
It also wasn't the most recent injury Clark endured. Before the Fever's August 7 game against the phoenix Mercury, Clark was rehabbing on the court and suffered a bone bruise on her ankle. This clearly delayed her timeline, and ultimately impacted whether she was able to return safely before the Fever's season ended.
While all of this information was already known, there were still some specific aspects of Clark's injuries — such as how much the ankle injury weighed in to her ultimately not returning — that had remained relatively unclear.
ESPN's Ryan Ruocco Sheds Light on Caitlin Clark's Fever Season-Ending Injury Verdict
However, during the Fever's September 9 game against the Minnesota Lynx (which was broadcast on ESPN), play-by-play wizard Ryan Ruocco went into detail about several previously unclear components around everything that happened regarding Clark.
"This was a decision collectively made by Caitlin, Stephanie White, the Fever front office. People are asking, 'Why didn't they make this decision two weeks ago?' Because they were trying to exhaust every possible option to get Caitlin Clark back on the floor," Ruocco said on the broadcast. "And she was working her tail off, living in the gym, to try and get back on the floor.
"And they finally got to a point where she just hadn't been able to get up to full speed. The calendar dwindled to where there was no longer going to be safe to bring it her back, and it was then the pertinent time to make that announcement," he added.
Caitlin Clark has completely taken over as head coach 😭 pic.twitter.com/YgYLtKCKo7
— BricksCenter (@BricksCenter) September 10, 2025
"Now people have wondered, 'Was it the groin? Was it the ankle?' Now, she hadn't been fully back from the groin yet, when she injured her ankle, which was eventually diagnosed as a bone bruise. And the ankle still was not ready to get her at full speed, and the groin was never tested... That's why Caitlin and Indiana arrived at the decision they did," Ruocco continued, noting that she ultimately ran out of time.
From there, he spoke about how Stephanie White told them that there's no way of knowing whether a soft tissue injury is connected to something potentially more serious. White apparently used the example of Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton attempting to play through a calf injury during the NBA playoffs, and ended up tearing his Achilles tendon in the NBA Finals earlier this year.
It's fascinating to hear that the ankle injury is what seemingly kept Clark from returning to the court sooner, if only because it kept the groin from being properly tested.
Regardless, the best, safest decision was surely made. And the Fever deserve credit for that, while also trying all they could to get No. 22 ready to compete in time.
Recommended Reading:
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
Follow GrvntYoung