Caitlin Clark had a brief injury scare during the Indiana Fever's preseason loss to the Dallas Wings, but early signs suggest the knock wasn't serious.
Clark exited Thursday's game in the third quarter after a collision with Dallas forward Alanna Smith, leaving the floor after contact on a 3-point attempt. The play was later upgraded to a Flagrant 1 following a review.
The moment draws concern given Clark's recent injury history, but she quickly downplayed it in postgame interviews.
"I feel good. I just landed on my kneecap really hard," Clark said.
The contact came during a physical stretch, with Clark subsequently limping toward the bench before being subbed out.
"I know there's a committee of people that really wanted them to start calling things, and I thought they did a great job of that," Clark said of the officiating.
"It's preseason, so you're probably going to see more fouls called. I expect that number to drop. But I think overall, it's going to improve the product."
Fever coach Stephanie White says the decision to take Clark out was a precautionary one.
"We had planned for her to come out about that time anyway," White said. "The plan was for her to start the third quarter and then get her out quickly."
White added that moments like that can be part of the process for a player returning from injury.
"Sometimes when you've come back from injury, depending on what the injury is, you gotta feel that a little bit first," she said. "You gotta be like, 'OK, yep, I can shake that one off."
Before exiting, Clark finished with 21 points and four assists in 16 minutes. She shot 4-of-6 from the field and 11-of-13 from the free-throw line in Indiana's 95-80 loss to Dallas.
Clark is coming off a 2025 season impacted by injuries, making any early health issues of great concern as the Fever prepare for the 2026 WNBA season.
