Caitlin Clark doubtful, again, for Dallas Wings matchup inside the American Airlines Center

DALLAS — The Dallas Wings are set to host the Indiana Fever inside American Airlines Center for the second time this season, but one of the WNBA’s most prominent stars could be sitting out with an injury, again.

Fever head coach Stephanie White provided a vague timeline of Caitlin Clark’s return from injury, and her chances of playing Friday night in Dallas are extremely slim. 

Clark missed the first “Night in Dallas” after sustaining a groin injury. After reaggravating the ailment on July 15 against the Connecticut Sun during another promotional game inside Boston’s TD Garden, this matchup, which the Wings have advertised as “The Sequel,” is living up to its name.

In the wake of that injury, Clark has withdrawn from the WNBA All-Star Game, for which she was a team captain, and missed four consecutive games.

The Fever organization has officially listed Clark as “day-to-day” after medical evaluations revealed she did not sustain any further injury.

However, during the ABC broadcast of the Fever/Sky game, ESPN’s Holly Rowe gave a more skeptical timeline on Clark’s return. According to Rowe, head coach Stephanie White said the team will be “even more cautious” with Clark’s return to play this go-round.

Rowe then relayed White’s desire for Clark to get more practices in before suiting up again, and said a “realistic” timeline put her back in the lineup around the third week in August. 

The Wings, who usually play in the 7,000-seat College Park Center on the campus of UT-Arlington, sold out the 20,000-seat AAC in their first game against the Fever. Clark was ruled out just hours before tipoff of that game.

Tickets are still available for Friday’s rematch, and prices have dropped. On July 17, courtside seats were going for as high as $6,150, and the cheapest ticket was $68. 

Still, seats in the lower bowl are running upwards of $100, but fans can get in the door for as low as $25.83, according to Ticketmaster.

But if you don’t want to pay the premium prices to see the Wings in Dallas, you might want to just wait until next season. Last month, the Dallas City Council confirmed that the team will not play at Memorial Auditorium in Downtown Dallas after the construction on that project was delayed. That leaves American Airlines Center as the likely landing spot for the franchise next season.

It’s unlikely we’ll see the highly anticipated showdown between the two consecutive No. 1 picks, Clark and Paige Bueckers, on Friday, but maybe the third time will be the charm.