The San Antonio Spurs will be without Kawhi Leonard for game one of their first-round Western Conference playoff series against reigning NBA champions the Golden State Warriors.

Spurs star Leonard has not played since January 13 as he recovers from quadricep tendinopathy.

The All-Star has played in only nine games all season

And Leonard has been ruled out of Saturday's opener against the Warriors.

The Spurs noted in a tweet: "Kawhi Leonard [return from injury management] is out for tomorrow’s Spurs-Warriors game."

This is certainly no surprise. In fact, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters on Thursday that if Leonard returned for the series, "we'll be caught off guard."

Leonard has reportedly been near a return several times this season, only to push back the timetable.

That saga has led to rumours of tension between Leonard, Spurs management and team-mates, and led to speculation that the player wants out of San Antonio.