San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich recently commented on the injury of the team’s best player Kawhi Leonard, saying that he hasn’t seen a quadriceps issue like that during his time in NBA. Leonard picked up the injury in Game 1 of the 2017 Western Conference finals and didn’t return to the court since.
“Never, never,” Popovich said about the injury. “What’s really strange is that Tony [Parker] has the same injury, but even worse. They had to go operate on his quad tendon and put it back together or whatever they did to it. So to have two guys, that’s pretty incredible. I had never seen it before those guys.“
Tony Parker also didn’t play basketball since last season, when he suffered ruptured left quadriceps tendon in the Western Conference semi-finals against the Houston Rockets. Unlike Leonard, Parker should be back on the court very soon according to Popovich.
“For real, sooner than later. And I’m serious. I’m being honest,” said Popovich about Parker’s return.
When it comes to Kawhi Leonard, the team refuses to offer a timeline in which he could be playing again. For now, Leonard is participating in the on-court work but he still hasn’t started practicing with the team. There are several steps that Leonard needs to complete during the rehabilitation process to receive clearance and get back to the normal training process. The Spurs are not rushing Leonard, which is something we could see in the earlier years, where the team has always placed the health of the player before the need for result.
Without Leonard and Parker, the Spurs are still above .500 with a record of 11-7 after a defeat against the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday. The Spurs have 4 days of rest before traveling to Charlotte on Sunday where they will face the Hornets.
