Kate Martin Makes ‘Difficult’ Admission About Caitlin Clark’s Injury

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Chris Phelps | Last updated May 28, 2025 12:47 PM ET

After helping the Indiana Fever start the 2025 WNBA season 2-2, Caitlin Clark will be unavailable to the team for the next few games.

On Monday, the Fever announced that Clark suffered a quad strain unrelated to her preseason injury. This will cause the former Iowa Hawkeyes star to miss a minimum of two weeks, putting her potential return date at June 10.

When the Fever visit the Washington Mystics on Wednesday night, Clark will miss a game for the first time since her high school days. Throughout college and her rookie season, the All-WNBA guard had not missed a single game, a streak dating back to 2017.

And her former college teammate, Kate Martin of the Golden State Valkyries, believes it will be tough for Clark to sit out.

Ahead of the Valkyries' 95-67 loss to the New York Liberty on Tuesday, Martin spoke exclusively to Mirror U.S. Sports, revealing her initial thoughts on Clark's injury.

“You never want to see anybody get injured, and it just kills me,” Martin said. “I know how much of a go-getter she is, so anything like this is going to stink. I know she just wants to be out there with her team, and she just wants to be playing all the time. So hopefully she can rest up and heal up soon.”

Martin went on to add that it will be "very difficult" for Clark to watch Indiana from the bench.

“She's not the type of person who's going to sit out of a game because she's tired or anything like that," Martin said. "That's just never been who she is. ... She wants to be out there for a full 40 minutes every single game of every single season. And so it's not easy as a competitor to have to be held back.”

Competitors now, but friends forever

Former @IowaWBB teammates Caitlin Clark and Kate Martin share a moment before their 3rd professional matchup against each other!

7pm/ET, League Pass pic.twitter.com/5CeaTSI3QM
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 11, 2024

Martin finished by mentioning Clark's competitiveness and passion for the game, while claiming, "I'm always going to be in her corner."

The Fever and Valkyries will meet for the first time on Thursday, June 19, in Indianapolis. Barring a change, Clark could be back to face her former Iowa teammate.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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