Caitlin Clark Dishes on Injury Rehab Ahead of 2026 WNBA Season, 'Incredibly Isolating'

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark told ESPN's Kareem Copeland she found it "incredibly isolating" to rehab from the injuries that limited her to 13 games last season.

Clark played 139 consecutive games during her historic college career and appeared in every game of her rookie WNBA season.

She then missed most of her second Fever campaign while dealing with multiple quad strains, an ankle bone bruise and a season-ending groin sprain.

"I put together a pretty incredible stretch of never missing a game," Clark told Copeland. "The fact is when you're a professional athlete, it's going to come at some point."

She continued, per Copeland: "It's honestly taught me more than I probably ever learned over the course of my career. How to take care of your body. How to get right. How to stay healthy. And then just taking time for yourself. Being hurt is an incredibly isolating thing, and you don't really understand it until you go through it."

Clark said in a recent interview with ESPN's Malika Andrews she had communicated with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who missed the beginning of the NBA season with his own injuries, when she was sidelined last season.

"I think LeBron has just been there to support me, more than anything... When I was hurt last year, he reached out and was like, 'Is there any way I can help you, is there anybody I can connect you with this?'" Clark told Andrews.

Despite an injury scare after landing on her kneecap during a preseason game last Thursday, Clark is set to return to the Fever lineup for her first regular-season action since July 15 in Saturday's season opener against the Dallas Wings.

The Fever made a surprising run to the semifinal of the 2025 WNBA players with Clark on the sideline. Indiana will hope a healthy season from Clark, alongside the returns of Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston, can power the team on an even deeper run this fall.