Fever hopeful Clark (leg) returns Sunday

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark missed Saturday's WNBA exhibition opener with a left leg injury. The move was considered precautionary as the Fever also play in an exhibition at Iowa on Sunday (4 p.m. ET, ESPN) in a homecoming game for Clark.

Clark initially was listed as questionable for Saturday and warmed up before the game against the Washington Mystics in Indianapolis. She was announced as out just before the game started and watched from the bench as the Fever won 79-74 in overtime.

The Fever next play Sunday against the Brazil national team.

Veteran free agent signee Sydney Colson started in place of Clark, and other Fever players spent time at point guard as well. Coach Stephanie White noted how Clark was very active on the bench talking to her teammates and the staff during the game.

"Her communication was outstanding," White said. "She was really engaged, and I felt like at one point she wanted to go back and put her uniform on and come out and play.

"As far as a status update, she's had a lot of progress in the last 24 hours, and that was our goal. We'll see what happens and how she feels after the workouts that she went through today. Hopefully, she'll be ready to go [Sunday]."

Sophie Cunningham, in her first season with Indiana after being traded from Phoenix, led the Fever with 21 points off the bench. Fellow guards Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull combined for 25 points and 7 assists.

Clark, a first-team All-WNBA pick and Rookie of the Year last season, played in all 40 regular-season games and both playoff games in 2024. She averaged 19.2 points, 8.4 assists and 5.7 rebounds.

Clark never missed a game in her four seasons at Iowa (2020-24), where she became the all-time Division I scoring leader. She started all 139, averaging 34.8 minutes, 28.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.1 rebounds.