Manu Ginobili Injury: Updates on Spurs Guard's Quad

San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili was forced out of Saturday's game against the Boston Celtics with an injury to his left leg that has been identified as a quad contusion, according to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News:

"

Left quad contusion for Ginobili. Done for the night.

— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) December 16, 2012"

UPDATE: Tuesday, Dec. 18 at 8:10 p.m. ET by Mike Shiekman

Ginobili will be back in the fold for San Antonio as they head to Denver for a showdown with the Nuggets, Jeff McDonald of San Antonio-Express News reports:

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Manu Ginobili (thigh contusion) will play tonight in Denver.

— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) December 19, 2012"

The Spurs did not look like themselves without Ginobili against the Thunder on Monday night. They should fare better against the Nuggets with him on the court.

---End of Update---

UPDATE: Monday, Dec. 17 at 12:30 p.m. ET by Patrick Clarke

Manu Ginobili will play for the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night against the reigning Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder according to Yahoo! Sports' Marc J. Spears via Twitter:

"

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili (left quad contusion) will not play tonight at Oklahoma City.

— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) December 17, 2012"

---End of Update---

UPDATE: Sunday, Dec. 16 at 4:15 p.m. ET by Ben Chodos

Manu Ginobili is unlikely to play in tomorrow’s rematch of the Western Conference Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.

The San Antonio News-Express’ Jeff McDonald reported the following news on the shooting guard’s quad injury.

"

Ginobili doubtful for tomorrow's game vs OKC with thigh contusion. Will travel w/ team, be re-evaluated after morning shootaround.

— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) December 16, 2012"

The Thunder have the best record in the Western Conference and will continue to build their lead atop the standings if the other Spurs players cannot compensate for Ginobili’s likely absence. 

---End of Update---

The 35-year-old guard was forced to sit out a small portion of games in November due to back issues so the news that Ginobili may miss more time with another injury is not good news for Spurs fans.  The injury occurred early in the first half and Ginobili was ruled out for the rest of the game.

If Ginobili is forced to miss an extended period of time once again, the Spurs will be missing out on a key contributor. When healthy the aging Ginobili has still put up great production.

The Spurs have limited his minutes to 25 per game in order to keep him healthy this season yet he is still the team’s third highest scorer at 12 points per game and also dishes 4.7 assists per game.

San Antonio is currently battling with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the best record in the West so the loss of Ginobili could be a big deal if Spurs are forced to find a scoring spark off the bench elsewhere. 

The Spurs have also been forced to deal with injuries to Kawhi Leonard so the team's depth has really been tested this season. 

Be sure to stay tuned to this page for the latest updates on this injury as information becomes available.