Caitlin Clark Surprise Injury Scratch for Fever Before Fire Game
The health and injury status of Caitlin Clark will be among the most monitored things of the 2026 WNBA season.
The main reason for this is that Clark is the biggest star in women's basketball. And the fact that Clark only played in 13 games last season due to various injuries was not ideal for anybody. Therefore, the hope is that Clark can stay on the court for as many games as possible this year.
Unfortunately, fans will be concerned to hear that Clark is not active against the Portland Fire on May 20.
Chloe Peterson of IndyStar indicated this with an X post on Wednesday that read, "Caitlin Clark has been ruled out with a back injury for tonight’s game after the Fever’s pregame walkthrough. She was not on the injury report yesterday."
Fever beat reporter Scott Agness noted in another post that, "I’m told [Clark's absence is] part of a strategic management plan for the season. Tonight is the Fever’s fourth game in eight days."
Fever guard Caitlin Clark will NOT play tonight vs Portland Fire. I’m told it’s part of a strategic management plan for the season.
— Scott Agness (@ScottAgness) May 20, 2026
Tonight is the Fever’s fourth game in eight days.
Perhaps this update about it being "strategic management" can be seen as good news. Still, fans want to see Clark on the court.
Stephanie White Provides Update on Caitlin Clark Back Issue
Fever head coach Stephanie White spoke to the media before Wednesday's game and was asked about what's keeping Clark out.
"[Clark] just woke up with some stiffness, and soreness. And we like to see, I always say, how do you respond after a workout? For us, it's not the time to take a chance. We just really want to be cautious," Clark said, per a YouTube video from Tony East.
When she was asked whether there's any concern about this injury after today, White said, "No. There's not."
She added that Clark did not participate in practice yesterday. Instead, she got treatment and then did individual workouts after practice.
Caitlin Clark Sparked Back Concerns Earlier This Season
This isn't the first time Clark's back has been a source of concern this season. The Fever star has been seen wearing a seating pad around her back on the bench several times this year, and went back into the locker room during Indiana's opening day loss to the Dallas Wings to get her back adjusted because, in her words, "It gets out of line pretty quickly".
Caitlin says she feels fine (clip from the postgame via Tony East YT, question by Robin Lundberg) pic.twitter.com/iRvwLFC4pv
— ericaf455 (@ericaf455) May 9, 2026
Back injuries can be among the toughest to navigate, if only because the back is used with essentially every movement a person makes, which makes it easy to aggravate and tough to recover from.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the Indiana Fever 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.
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