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Caitlin Clark opened up during her exit interview Thursday about the litany of lower-body injuries that limited the Indiana Fever star to just 13 games in her sophomore campaign.
Clark, 23, spoke to reporters after the Las Vegas Aces knocked the Fever out of the playoffs on Tuesday.
“I’ve been working really hard to get back to full health and I feel like, probably, over these last couple of weeks is when I’ve probably started feeling my best,” Clark said via the New York Post.
Clark initially hurt her left groin and quad. She came back to play after she recovered from those injuries, but sustained a right groin injury before the All-Star break.
On top of those injuries, Clark said she sustained a bone bruise in her left ankle while trying to ramp up in early August.
“My ankle didn’t allow me to really see where my groin was at,” Clark said. “I just went to kind of make a move and, unfortunately, my ankle completely rolled all the way forward and probably one of the worst sprains I’ve dealt with.”
CAITLIN CLARK CALLS FOR ‘GREAT LEADERSHIP’; SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM DOUBLES DOWN ON WNBA COMMISSIONER CONDEMNATION
“But I’ve just tried to stay positive (the) best I can, but I honestly feel like I’m in a really good spot. People don’t always realize … when you’re injured, it’s honestly more work than when you’re playing.”
The Fever star said that sitting on the sidelines dealing with the injuries taught her some lessons.
“There (were) certainly some hard days,” Clark said. “I think it taught (me) how to be a really good leader, how to be a really good teammate and how to empathize (with) your teammates in certain situations. When you are in the heat of battle, your emotions are high and you feel things differently … When you’re on the sidelines and you don’t have a jersey on, you can observe and really watch people and learn about people.”
Clark announced at the beginning of September that she would not return for the season due to her injuries. She is also not playing in Unrivaled, the 3×3 women’s basketball league, this offseason, per Front Office Sports.
Unrivaled is entering its second season, and Clark did not play in the league’s first one last year, opting to rest.
Clark averaged 16.5 points, 8.8 assists and five rebounds over 31.1 minutes per game in her 13 games this season.
The Fever, despite not having Clark, Sophie Cunningham and others due to injury, pushed the Aces to Game 5 of the WNBA semifinals.
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