The Indiana Fever are entering the final stretch of the season without their biggest star, and the question on everyone’s mind is the same: when will Caitlin Clark return?
Clark’s teammate Sophie Cunningham has spoken out on the situation.
Clark hasn’t played since suffering a right groin injury on July 15 against the Connecticut Sun, missing 13 straight games since then. The Fever continue to label her as day-to-day, but her teammate Sophie Cunningham admitted this week that nobody has an answer, not even Clark herself.
“I don’t know,” Cunningham said on the latest episode of her Show Me Something podcast. “Everyone keeps asking, and I’m like literally, ‘She doesn’t even know.’ It’s just like a day-by-day, legit kind of thing. And so yeah, she’s close…”
Skip Bayless recently theorized that Clark’s absence may be more mental than physical, suggesting she’s taking a break from the “hate, physicality, bullying, and jealousy” around her. Cunningham, however, wasn’t having it.
“That’s literally bull—t,” she said. “Like, no one’s lying. Here’s the thing. When you’re an elite level player, you not being able to play is the hardest part, mentally, physically, emotionally. You know what I mean? Like it’s not playing. It’s when you’re playing is like when you’re it’s a part of it. Like you’re built for that. So when people say stuff like that, I’m just like ‘Shut up.’”
For Clark, the biggest hurdle now isn’t health, but conditioning, Cunningham says.
“But like you also have to remember she could be playing if it wasn’t in the WNBA by now, but at this level, with how deep and how good people are nowadays in our league, which is the best it’s ever been, like you just can’t be good,” Cunningham added. “You have to be on top of your game. And so, just trying to get her back in game shape, I think, is what they’re trying to do. It’s literally a day-to-day thing. I’m not withholding any information. I just literally don’t know.”
READ MORE: Skip Bayless Questions Caitlin Clark Injury Timeline
