Fever's Kelsey Mitchell Encourages Caitlin Clark to 'Take Her Time' on Injury Return

Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell is urging teammate Caitlin Clark to prioritize her health as she recovers from a left quadriceps strain that will sideline her for at least two weeks.

"Take her time and make sure that she's well enough to be who she needs to be for us. because I want the 100 percent Caitlin," Mitchell told reporters.

The 29-year-old Mitchell wants to emphasize that Clark has the locker room's support in her rehabilitation process.

"Caitlin knows that she has the ears and the eyes in the locker room and the support that she has behind (her), whether is us or anybody else," Mitchell said. "I would like to think she knows that it's there."

Clark, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, suffered the injury in a game against the New York Liberty—her first significant setback as a professional or collegiate athlete. The Fever are expected to take a cautious approach with their star rookie, who will miss a minimum of four games.

"Obviously, she's a competitor and wants to play. Obviously, everyone wants to watch her play. But for me, it's maintaining perspective," Fever head coach Stephanie White said. "It's making sure that we address this in a way that doesn't affect long term, that we take care of it, don't over-push, don't overexert, making sure that we take the long-game approach to this so that we're not having lingering issues throughout the course of the season. Sometimes great players don't tell you when they're hurting. I'm glad that she did, because we need to nip this in the bud."