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Injured Caitlin Clark Casually Kicking a Soccer Ball Had Fans Very Worried
Caitlin Clark needs to find a relaxing hobby during her time sidelined from the court.
The Indiana Fever star has missed the Fever's past four games—and WNBA All-Star weekend festivities—due to a right groin injury she suffered against the Connecticut Sun on July 15. In the meantime, Clark has turned into the mini-me version of coach Stephanie White, frequently seen arguing about calls with refs as well as cheering on her teammates.
Lately, though, one of Clark's off-court shenanigans has elicited stern disapproval from her fans.
Clark was spotted in Iowa this week for the ribbon-cutting ceremony of her foundation's new basketball court at McCombs Middle School.
A fan's camera caught Clark casually kicking a soccer ball at the middle school—she was using her right leg to do so, and a movement like kicking a ball can put a strain on the groin muscles and even worsen an existing strain.
Fans did not like seeing Clark do that:
does she know she's injured?😭 https://t.co/spzb2sfG9l
— no⁴⁴ 🏳️🌈 (@worldchamp44) July 29, 2025
girl pls be careful with that groin 😩 anyways i’d like to see her play soccer again even if it’s just for fun, she’s just a demon at every sport https://t.co/3ZQCfTZ2Yr
— nana (@supeerier) July 29, 2025
She really can’t just take it easy man she just like the kids lol https://t.co/UbhkawtQun
— Dallas Jones (@DallasJonesy) July 29, 2025
Babe, are you not supposed to be resting that groin? https://t.co/84XyLo6oh6
— MJ (@mooniejoon9) July 29, 2025
One potentially positive takeaway from the short video clip is that Clark has more or less healed from her groin injury, but the Fever are just being extra cautious with her return, not wanting her to re-aggravate her injury again at this point in the season.
Clark is set to miss her fifth straight game when the Fever host the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday night. The Fever will then start August with four straight games on the road.
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Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.