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Caitlin Clark was downgraded from questionable to out for the Indiana Fever's matchup with the reigning champion New York Liberty on Wednesday, the team announced. Clark tweaked her right groin during the Fever's win over the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday and was in tears on the bench after checking out.

After the game, Fever coach Stephanie White said Clark "felt a little something in her groin" and would be evaluated. On Wednesday, White said there is nothing set in stone regarding Clark's status beyond her being unavailable for Wednesday's game. However, she offered a bit of positivity after Clark underwent imaging on the groin. 

"The big picture is the most important. For her health and wellness long term, and for our team. We've been very slow in making sure that every time she comes back she's ready. We'll continue to approach it like that. Long term is the most important," White said. "I consider [the results of the imaging] good news just because for me is any time that we're talking about 'day-to-day' is always good news for me. But that's a layman's viewpoint."

White said any decisions regarding Clark's availability for this weekend's WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis will be made by "Caitlin and her team."

"It's a big deal for us to have All-Star in Indianapolis, and of course with Caitlin being a focal point of all of that. As the coach of the Indiana Fever, it's not a bigger deal than our long-term season, but it's also part of the fun," White said. "Those are conversations that Caitlin will have with her group. I probably won't be a part of those, but we're gonna support her no matter what."

Clark was injured late in the fourth quarter Tuesday after finding Kelsey Mitchell with a nifty backdoor pass. She came up hobbled, grabbed the inside of her right leg and walked the length of the court in obvious pain. She put her head against the basket stanchion on the other end of the floor and was visibly upset. 

Clark has already dealt with multiple injuries this season, missing 10 games in total -- nine in the regular season and then the Commissioner's Cup championship. She missed five games with a left quad strain and later sat out five more after injuring her left groin. This is uncharted territory for Clark, who did not miss any playing time for injury reasons at Iowa or during her WNBA rookie year. 

The Fever have won three straight games and sit in sixth place at 12-10. They are 8-5 with Clark in the lineup and 4-5 when she does not play. 

2025 WNBA All-Star: Caitlin Clark out of WNBA 3-Point Contest field, replaced by Fever teammate Lexie Hull
Robby Kalland
2025 WNBA All-Star: Caitlin Clark out of WNBA 3-Point Contest field, replaced by Fever teammate Lexie Hull

Clark's absence against the Liberty does not come as a surprise given her previous injury issues and the upcoming All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis. Her availability for this weekend remains up in the air. 

Clark was voted an All-Star captain and was set to participate in the 3-Point Contest on Friday before the game on Saturday night. 

"Not much went into it other than 'yes,'" Clark said of her decision to accept a spot in the 3-Point Contest. "Obviously it's exciting, I've never participated in a 3-point competition before, never practiced before. Just go out there and have fun. I think the lineup of people competing is tremendous. So more than anything it's just gonna be really great for our league and for women's basketball as a whole just to have a lot of fun and experience that. I'm just excited. I think Friday, the Skills Competition and that will be a really exciting time, and then we'll be right into Saturday for a really great game as well."