Kawhi Leonard Out for Warriors vs. Spurs as Quad Injury Recovery Continues

While there was some hope San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard would return to the court to take on the Golden State Warriors, the team announced he would miss Monday's game at AT&T Center.

Leonard hasn't played since January 13 and has only appeared in nine games all season while dealing with a quad injury.

Unfortunately, there are only 12 games remaining in the season for the forward to make a potential comeback.

Head coach Gregg Popovich said Saturday the player still hasn't been cleared by his medical staff, per Paul Garcia of Project Spurs.

San Antonio has struggled mightily in Leonard's absence, currently sitting tied for fifth in the Western Conference at 40-30 entering Sunday. Considering only two games separate fifth and 10th, every game is important at this point of the season.

Facing the Warriors without their most talented player certainly makes things tougher Monday.

A healthy Leonard—or even if he is less than 100 percent—would make a huge difference in securing a playoff spot and potentially making another deep run. The 26-year-old finished in the top three of MVP voting in each of the last two seasons, excelling on both ends of the court to keep San Antonio near the top of the standings.

Unfortunately, this has just not been his year, missing most of the season with a quad injury while averaging just 16.2 points per game when on the court.

If San Antonio wants to avoid missing the playoffs for the first time since 1997, the team will likely have to do it without Leonard.