Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu says Caitlin Clark 'means a lot more to the game' amid All-Star heartbreak

New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu lamented Caitlin Clark s latest injury that sidelined the Indiana Fever guard from All-Star weekend festivities but she notified reporters Friday that Clark s contributions will still be felt at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Clark was ruled out of Wednesday night's competition against the Liberty with a groin injury her third injury of the season It was enough to sideline the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year from this weekend s All-Star events where she was due to compete in the -point contest Friday and the All-Star Challenge Saturday Even so Ionescu stated reporters during a news conference Friday the Clark effect will still be in full effect CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS Obviously it s really unfortunate that we don t have her but she means a lot more to the contest than just showing up and playing I think you re able to see that with just the excitement in Indy right now regardless of if she s playing or not Ionescu added she understands the frustrations Clark is experiencing being sidelined as the Fever prepare to host All-Star weekend Obviously we re good friends I ve been able to talk to her a lot through this process Honestly I kind of went through something similar in my career My first year I didn t play due to injury and my second year I had three to four soft tissue injuries that I was dealing with You look back and it s kind of a blessing in disguise because you re able to just learn and grow and understand it s all a part of your journey she explained CAITLIN CLARK DECIDES TO FORGO WNBA ALL-STAR FESTIVITIES AFTER SUFFERING INJURY Just trying to be that sound board for her and that voice having gone through something kind of similar Liberty coach Sandy Brondello who will coach Association Clark in Saturday s tournament echoed Ionescu s comments reassuring fans that Clark will still be a dominant presence even from courtside She s still going to have a great impact on this band I will give the coaching hat to her as much as she wants to be quite honest Brondello disclosed with a laugh We re going to play around with it a little bit It ll be fun I think you ve seen it with the Fever She s been very working on the sideline when she wasn t playing So we ll utilize that as well The WNBA declared that Washington Mystics guard Brittney Sykes and Atlanta Dream forward Brionna Jones will replace Clark and an injured Satou Sabally in the challenge this weekend Both will play for Brondello The Fever disclosed Friday that Lexie Hull will replace Clark in the -point contest Follow Fox News Digital s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter