After a record-setting rookie season, Caitlin Clark's sophomore campaign has been less than ideal.
After just four games, Clark dealt with a quad injury. She then played five games before missing time with a groin injury she reaggravated after another four contests.
Clark has played 13 of a possible 31 games, and she has not played since July 15.
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Her injury clearly affected her shot. She was just 7-for-49 from 3-point range in her last six games. Just before that stretch, she was 11-for-20 in her first two games back from the quad injury.
The injury forced Clark to miss the All-Star Game despite her being the first player to receive 1 million fan votes.
"There's just been so much to manage. … Obviously, I feel like that's been a huge part of this year. It's just been so challenging being active and then playing four games … and then not feeling the best. And then I'm frustrated about how hard I've worked in the offseason. And then all I do is rehab and continue through this process and just trying to trust that the best I can," Clark said on WNBA legend Sue Bird's podcast.
"Obviously, there are really frustrating days, and there are days where it's a little bit easier, and you're very motivated. And you're close to the finish line of getting back and being back. It's not like I have a training camp to build up to play in my first game again. It's like, 'No, you're tossed into game 30, like, 'Go try to play well.' It's hard, it really is.
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"I think it has given me really good perspective on what a lot of my teammates and teams I've been a part of [and] what certain people have had to go through," she continued. "I've never been through anything like this. I think that's probably why it's been so hard because I've never really dealt with injury.
"And that's probably been a challenge in itself because when I was first feeling pain, I didn't understand it. I was like, 'Am I just getting tight? Am I just getting old? Do I need to hit a stretch? Do I need to get rubbed out? Do I need some Icy Hot? What's going on here?
"So, I think it's been a balance of understanding my body. Whether it's this year or whether it's next year and even throughout my career, I'm going to be very thankful for this moment. I know this is going to help me understand my body better."
The Fever have been inconsistent without Clark recently. In their first two games without Clark after she injured her groin, they lost. They then rattled off five straight victories before losing another two in a row.
The Fever host Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky Saturday.
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