Fever coach Stephanie White, Iowa Hawkeyes basketball legend Caitlin Clark send mixed messages on star's return

The WNBA and the Indiana Fever desperately miss Caitlin Clark.

Two weeks ago, the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball product suffered a left quad strain against the New York Liberty and has been on the sidelines ever since.

The Fever's offense has treaded water in her absence, and the league as a whole has struggled to find media traction without the face of the women's basketball renaissance in uniform.

Clark is on a similar run to Tiger Woods, who elevated a once-niche sport into the mainstream consciousness, thus elevating the rest of the players' star power.

The injury was supposed to knock Clark out of action for over a month, but the 23-year-old might be on the court earlier than previously anticipated.

At a recent press conference, Clark provided an optimistic update on her future status.

"I'll miss this weekend's game [Saturday against the Chicago Sky], but after that, it's day-by-day and see how I feel, and just turn to the medical staff and what they think," Clark said, as reported by ESPN's Alexa Philippou. It's the type of injury where, like, you don't know when I wake up, I'll feel different than the day before. We'll see."

On Monday, Fever coach Stephanie White pumped the brakes a bit but sounded hopeful about her best player's imminent arrival.

"You've got to work your way back into being game-ready," White said. "We're ready to start ramping back up—she's been allowed to do some practicing, not everything, and we're going to be smart. We're going to be smart and cautious, play the long game, and work her back in cautiously."

The next realistic spot for Clark to get back into the fold would be Saturday against the reigning champion New York Liberty.

Hopefully, Clark will be on the floor soon to re-enter her name in the MVP conversation and help elevate Indiana into title contention.