After suffering a strained plantaris muscle in his right calf, San Antonio Spurs’ rookie Tiago Splitter will be out of action for up to two weeks. He missed the Spurs’ road preseason game in Mexico City against the Los Angeles Clippers and will miss the preseason game in Pittsburgh against the Cleveland Cavaliers as he continues to recover:
Though the initial prognosis for Splitter indicated he would be re-evaluated seven to 10 days after straining the muscle on the third day of training camp, it may be another 10 days to two weeks before he is cleared to play. In all likelihood, he won’t be ready to suit up against Caja Laboral, the team he led to the Spanish League title last season. (source Express News)
The immediate health of Splitter should be something the Spurs need to watch closely. Prior to joining the team he was already dealing with a litany of injuries.
During the summer Splitter was injured at the Super Four Basketball tournament in Brazil suffering a left thigh contusion where he sat out the rest of the tournament. Also, days before the 2010 FIBA World Championship he sat out of a tune-up game in France also due to injury. Let’s not forget he played in the Spanish Finals this summer with his former team Caja Laboral.
He then joined the Brazilian national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship where he averaged 25 minutes per game and there was a report the Brazilian national team was hiding a leg injury he suffered while in Turkey.
Granted Splitter is young and will be able to bounce back but leading up to joining the Spurs he has had a long offseason and might not be coming in fresh.
However, it is quite possible with little rest in the summer, Spurs fans could hear more news regarding Splitter suffering from nagging injuries once the regular season is underway.
Seems Splitter is the one in need of time to rest more than anyone on the team.