With Caitlin Clark cleared to play on Saturday by the Indiana Fever’s team doctors and head coach Stephanie White, the star guard shared what learning lessons she had learned through her three-week injury absence.
In her media availability on Friday, Clark detailed that the recovery from her left quadracep strain has been a process that required patience and focus on improvement day-by-day.
“I’m really excited. I think it’s definitely been a process, Clark said.” “I think the hardest part is when you come in and feel really good, and it’s just a process of working yourself back in, actually getting up and down and getting out there with my teammates. And obviously that can be a little difficult at the same time when they’re prepping for other games that I know I’m not going to be available in.”
Caitlin Clark on what she’s learned being out for three weeks and “shaking off some rust” in her return: pic.twitter.com/2Gf8wFqyP6
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Clark continued by thanking the Fever’s medical staff for helping her progress through her recovery and keep a healthy mindset throughout her three-week absence, which the former Hawkeyes legend said is a learning lesson that she will able to use later on her career.
“But, you know, the medical staff, I have to give them a lot of credit. I think they did a really good job and just have tried to, like, control my mindset the whole time that I’ve been out and learned from the bench. I think it can teach you a lot of different things. So, yeah, it was certainly a learning opportunity, and I think it’s going to benefit me a lot throughout my career by just going back and understanding certain moments like this.”
Clark also mentioned the various rehab techniques the Fever medical staff utilized during her absence that allowed for a speedy recovery, including needling, red light therapy, and hyperbaric oxygen chamber use.
“A lot of needling,” Clark said. “When you do treatment in rehab, you’re still lifting. You’re almost lifting heavier than probably what I was, what I would be doing on a day like today, preparing for a game. Just trying to strengthen my muscles, my left leg and my right leg, literally anything I tried it. Red light therapy, hyperbaric oxygen chamber, like we do it all. And the same goes, even when I’m feeling healthy, like it’s a big part of it, massages, everything.”
Ironically, Clark’s return will be against the still undefeated New York Liberty (9-0), who were the same opponent she faced when she suffered her quadracep injury on May 24.
The high-profile matchup will be held at 2 p.m. CT from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis as part of WNBA Commissioner’s Cup action and will be broadcast on ABC.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Caitlin Clark shares what she’s learned through her injury absence
