OMNISPORT

San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard has yet to play this season because of right quadriceps tendinopathy, an injury coach Gregg Popovich says he has "never" encountered.

Leonard injured his leg in the play-offs last season and was initially expected to return in December.

Popovich said it was the first time he had seen an injury like Leonard's, while Tony Parker is also sidelined after surgery during the offseason to repair a ruptured left quadriceps tendon.

"Never, never," Popovich told reporters Wednesday, via ESPN, when asked whether he has seen such an injury affecting one of his players.

"What's really strange is that Tony 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."

Popovich was optimistic with Parker's progress, saying he will be back sooner rather than later.