The Indiana Fever have spent much of the 2026 season carefully managing Caitlin Clark’s health as they look to keep their superstar on the floor for a deep playoff push. Although Clark is still averaging a career-best 19.7 points to go with 7.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds in 20 games, her production has dipped from the scorching pace she set earlier in the season as she continues to battle a lingering back injury.
The injury has also affected Clark’s workload. She has not played more than 26 minutes since Indiana’s June 22 game against the Phoenix Mercury. Clark re-aggravated the injury two days later against Phoenix and had missed three of the Fever’s last seven games entering Friday.
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Clark was initially listed as probable on Thursday’s injury report as Indiana prepared to host the Seattle Storm. On Friday, however, the Fever announced that the star guard will be available to play.
Friday’s contest is the first half of a back-to-back, with the Fever set to host the defending champion New York Liberty on Saturday. By choosing to play Clark against Seattle, it remains to be seen whether head coach Stephanie White will give her the second night off as Indiana continues to carefully manage her workload.
Since returning against the Los Angeles Sparks, White has kept Clark on a strict minutes restriction. Clark played just 26 minutes in Indiana’s most recent outing against the Golden State Valkyries, finishing with 13 points while shooting 4-for-14 from the field and 1-for-8 from three-point range in the Fever’s loss.
It also remains to be seen whether the three-time All-Star will see an increase in minutes against the Storm.
