There are 9 games left of the Fever season, and one question on everyone’s mind: Will Caitlin Clark be making a return? If you ask the reigning ROTY, she is going to jump on the first opportunity she gets. ” She just wants to play basketball. She’s in the mindset that she’s hungry,” Stephanie White reveals. After an eventful off-season and a campaign that saw shots from 30 feet, every delay stings. But not every Clark wish comes without pushback. Even if her recovery were timely.

The best bits of the Caitlin Clark injury updates we have got so far only arrive so: 1. She has managed to run full court with all of her body weight, and 2. She might be reintegrated into practice by next week. Further, the ankle injury scare from August 7th, reported recently, has in no way affected her return timeline. So ESPN currently estimates her comeback date as September 2nd. But will that be enough to fuel the Fever’s deep playoff hopes? WNBA analyst Ros Gold-Onwude doesn’t think so.

“You might be playing with fire. Already the season-ending injuries have mounted… and it’s all injuries to the guards. Like, I don’t even think the Fever really have enough depth at the guard position to support a Caitlin Clark comeback. Like, do you have enough bodies to support that?” she questioned. The answer is simple.

Neither do the Fever boast their true point guards– Sydney Colson and Aari ‘blessing in disguse’ McDonald — nor do they have a makeshift in Sophie Cunningham. Each of them has been ruled out for the rest of the season due to ACL tear, broken bone, and MCL tear, respectively. That leaves the Fever with Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull.

The front office may have brought on Odyssey Sims and Shey Peddy, but it is no easy task to get into the rhythm. Even if they did, their seven-day hardship contracts don’t make them eligible to play in the postseason. There’s no visible guard depth to help Clark even if she comes back. Yes, Kelsey Mitchell is having the run of her career, but there’s only so much she could contribute, while Hull tries to overcome a slump.

And as White has iterated, without no point guard, there’s no one to initiate the offense. We saw it crumble against Dallas. Meaning, Clark will have to carry quite the load. So Gold-Onwude has a better suggestion.

“By the time you even bring her back, there’s barely enough time for her to really, truly catch a rhythm… The season has been honorable for the Fever, but it might just be the time to look on to the future,” she adds. That holds weight.

We have had the 23-year-old’s shooting slump staring right at us all through the season. She went 7-of-49 from the 3 in her last seven outings. On the road, it was even worse — 2-of-35. Not only does Clark needs to find her groove back, but she also needs to match strides with a well-adjusted team after a 13-game absence. Don’t forget, Cunningham admitted that having Sims on the first day threw them off balance.

So, Clark focusing on a complete recovery, slow and steady as it may be, should be the priority for the Fever. More so considering the team’s enforcer admitted, that Clark’s injury is ‘weird’. There’s no constant pain but “when you do hurt it you’re out.” Lisa Leslie, having suffered the injury herself, has also explained this will not be an easy heal. It requires plenty of rest, and even then, the pain could still linger years later.

So it’s possible that CC might not be able to perform as she did earlier this season even after she’s back. So what has the HC got to say?

Stephanie White prioritizes health in Caitlin Clark update

Caitlin Clark has missed close to two-thirds of the regular season games the Indiana Fever have played until now, and still, there’s no clear timeline about her return. Well, Stephanie White put it better after she revealed CC’s recent bone bruise in an interview with ESPN.

“There was no timeline or projected return to play, so it’s impossible to say if it was impacted. So it remains the same, to give Caitlin Clark as much time needed to ensure she comes back fully healthy, which every day she is working hard to do… Until she can get into practice and until you guys see her in practice, it’s really status quo,” she said.

But before CC joins the healthy players on the roster, she’s got to participate in multiple practice sessions, as she’s got to fit well with Shey and Sims if they stay with the team when she arrives. But yes, the process ahead won’t be as easy as it may seem to be, as now the Fever have nine important games ahead, with the next being against the No. 1 overall team in the league standings—the Minnesota Lynx! So, can Fever’s current roster, led by MVP potential candidate Kelsey Mitchell, be able to claim a berth? And even if they do so, will CC be able to make a return before the postseason?