Indiana’s Clark set to return against Valks

WNBA

Guard has missed 5 games with a groin injury

INDIANAPOLIS >> Caitlin Clark expects to play tonight when the Indiana Fever host the Golden State Valkyries after missing the past five games with a left groin injury.

The All-Star captain participated in practice Monday which was open to season ticket holders, playing in a 5-on-5 scrimmage. It was the first time she’d done that since getting hurt on June 26. Barring any setbacks, Clark will be available to play Wednesday.

“It’s nice to get back out there and get back into the flow of playing with my teammates again,” Clark told reporters after practice Tuesday. “It’s going to be fun to get back out there hopefully and just feel things again. … It’s obviously hard sitting out and watching for a few weeks, so I’m excited to get out there.”

It will be the second time in barely two weeks the Valkyries will face Clark and the Fever. On June 19, the expansion team held the WNBA superstar to 11 points and she turned the ball over six times in Golden State’s 88-77 win at Chase Center. Clark missed all seven of her 3-point attempts.

The Valkyries are 9-9, but have lost their past two games. Tonight’s game will be the third of a four-game trip. Golden State lost 82-71 at Minnesota on Saturday and 90-81 at Atlanta on Monday night and has yet to win a game outside of California. This trip concludes Saturday afternoon at the Las Vegas Aces. The Valkyries return home on July 14 against Phoenix, the second-place team in the Western Conference standings.

Clark played in two more games before she was shut down because of an injury for the second time this season. She’s only played in nine of the team’s 18 games this season as well as the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final which saw the Fever beat the Minnesota Lynx. Clark had a left quad injury that forced her to miss five games last month.

“I hope to play a decent amount — in the upper 20s. I guess it depends on how the game goes and how I feel and what the team needs,” Clark said. “But I feel pretty good. But I’m going to try to not overdo it and put myself in a good position moving forward.”