Caitlin Clark out for WNBA Season, Fever Star Provides Injury Update in Post

If the Indiana Fever make the playoffs this season, they will not have their star player to lead the way.

Caitlin Clark, who has dealt with a groin injury for much of the 2025 campaign, announced Thursday she will not return this season despite her best efforts.

"I want to thank everyone who had my back through all the uncertainty," she wrote, in part. "This has been incredibly frustrating, but even in the bad, there is good. The way the fans continued to show up for me, and for the Fever, brought me so much joy and important perspective."

Fever general manager Amber Cox provided a statement as well:

As of Thursday, Indiana holds the eighth and final playoff spot in the standings at 21-20. It is just 1.5 games ahead of the Los Angeles Sparks despite a number of injuries.

While Clark is the most prominent one, the team also lost Sophie Cunningham, Sydney Colson, Aari McDonald and Chloe Bibby for the season to various physical setbacks.

Yet the loss of Clark is the biggest one considering she is one of the faces of the league and seemed primed to take another step in her second year in the league. Yet she ended up playing just 13 games, which largely prevented her from building on her 2024 Rookie of the Year.

The Iowa product was also an All-WNBA First Team selection last season and finished fourth in MVP voting.

It was an incredible debut season and one that cemented her place as the franchise building block for the Fever. Her presence was also a major reason there were realistic championship expectations surrounding Indiana at the start of the 2025 campaign.

However, injuries have been an issue throughout the season. Even when she played she was limited at times, which surely contributed to her three-point percentage dropping to just 27.9 percent when she was on the floor.

Indiana will be facing an uphill battle without Clark even if it does make the playoffs, especially since it could be matched up with the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx in the first round. It will be up to Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston to keep the offense afloat in the meantime.