San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili will be out three to four weeks with a strained hamstring, the team announced on Monday. According to the Spurs team website, the injury Ginobili sustained occurred during the first quarter of the Spurs game against the Los Angeles Clippers on March 29.

Ginobili has played in 59 games for the Spurs this season, averaging 11.9 points-per-game along with 3.4 rebounds and 4.6 assists a game. The Spurs currently sport the best record in the Western Conference at 55-18. With the playoffs slated to begin on April 20th, Ginobili’s return for the postseason is uncertain. Ginobili has missed 13 games so far this season, including missing time by straining his other hamstring.

Spurs guard Manu Ginobili will miss 3-4 weeks with a strained right hamstring, team announced Monday. Tough loss for Spurs.—
Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) April 01, 2013

Manu Ginobili is excited and proud that the new Pope hails from his home country. (Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Spurs guard and Argentina-native, Manu Ginobili, was surprised and proud that the new Pope hails from his home country, according to Spurs Nation:

“It is incredible,” Ginobili said after Thursday morning’s shootaround. “We were watching and when we heard the name I said, ‘What? Did we hear it right?’

“We were all in shock. The country is going crazy.”

Ginobili is from Bahia Blanca, Argentina and is a member of the country’s national team. He remembered a day early in his Spurs career when he showed his teammates where Argentina was on a map, and believes Pope Francis will help increase the country’s visibility.

“An Argentinean being in charge of a billion people is not something that happens often,” Ginobili said. “Catholicism is the main religion in my country and, of course, it is a big thing.”

The San Antonio Spurs will once again be without the services of shooting guard Manu Ginobili this season. The player himself announced the results of an MRI exam via Twitter on Monday, saying the scan revealed a grade one strained left hamstring.

Just finished with the MRI. Grade 1 strained left hamstring. 10/14 days out. Will be back shortly. Thanks 4 ur support!!—
Manu Ginobili (@manuginobili) January 14, 2013

The injury will keep Ginobili out of action for 10-14 days, making his earliest possible comeback date January 25, when the Spurs take on the Dallas Mavericks. Ginobili has battled numerous injuries this season, his 11th in the NBA. He is averaging 12.9 points and 4.6 assists for the Spurs, who currently lead the Southwest Division by 2.5 games over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Manu Ginobili will miss the Spurs’ season opener. (Fernando Medina, Getty Images)

The San Antonio Spurs will start the season without one of their most experienced players.

The San Antonio Express-News‘ Mike Monroe reported via Twitter that shooting guard Manu Ginobili will not travel with his team for their season-opening trip to New Orleans on Wednesday night, and will instead be re-evaluated on Thursday. Ginobili has been struggling with back spasms throughout the preseason, and it is that injury that will keep him from tipping off the Spurs’ 2012-2013 season.

Speaking to Monroe, Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich said Ginobilit attempted to practice on Monday, but could not complete the session.

The San Antonio Spurs included both Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker in trade talks last offseason. (Layne Murdoch/Getty Images)

The juggernaut known as the San Antonio Spurs that is currently running through the NBA Playoffs was almost dismantled last offseason.

The New York Post’s Peter Vecsey reports that the Spurs included both point guard Tony Parker and sixth man Manu Ginobili in trade talks after their season ended at the hands of the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies.

Vecsey reports that everyone minus Tim Duncan was available for the right price. Vecsey feels it’s necessary to specify what exactly that means:

Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, I must reemphasize, were available for the appropriate equity.

The Spurs, however, weren’t impressed by any offer they got for either Parker or Ginobili. Probably a good thing, considering their 20-game steamroll of a winning streak through the end of the regular season and playoffs ended just the other night at the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Parker was a hot rumor last offseason, but this is the first mention of Ginobili in trade talks. Parker was the Spurs’ lucrative trade bait for them to shed Richard Jefferson’s hefty contract. Ginobili too, apparently, was available, though the wrist injury he suffered at the end of last season likely hampered any offers the Spurs got for him.

The moves on which the Spurs eventually did pull the trigger, both last offseason and during the year, helped make them the force they are now. They traded guard George Hill to the Indiana Pacers for the first-round pick that became small forward Kawhi Leonard, who is averaging 8.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game this postseason. His value as a player stretches beyond those numbers. In March, they finally shipped off Jefferson in exchange for Stephen Jackson, who has fit into his role with the Spurs.

Vecsey summarizes it as such: ”The Spurs hit a home run.”

Tim Duncan plans to re-sign with San Antonio when he becomes a free agent this summer. (Evan Gole/Getty Images)

Tim Duncan put to rest any questions about his pending free-agent status. Duncan will not be leaving the San Antonio Spurs when he becomes a free agent on July 1, he told Yahoo Sports‘ Johnny Ludden after a Game 1 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.

“No … I’m not going anywhere,” Duncan told Ludden. “You can print that wherever you want to. I’m here and I’m a Spur for life.”

Duncan also talked about doubts he had about his future. At some points, he and the organization both wondered how long he would be able to hold up. Last season, his left knee gave him trouble. But after a resurgence, Duncan sees himself playing another season or two.

“I got to the point where I was depressed and pissed off that my body wasn’t doing the things that it used to do, and that I was deteriorating skill-wise,” he said. “I’m a competitor. I want to be a staple on a team, I want to be a go-to guy on a team. When that changed, that obviously hurt a little bit. But I found ways to be a part of this team and be a big part of this team.”

Duncan said that over the years, he also wondered if the team’s core of Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and himself would stick together in the long run. They have because their relationship “works.”

“We’ve all found a home here in San Antonio,” Duncan said, “and we all love it here.”

“If something doesn’t work, you break it up and you do something else. We’ve all accepted our roles, we’ve evolved over the years and we’ve all been happy with it because we believe.”

Manu Ginobili suffered a strained left oblique muscle in the second half of today’s win over the L.A. Clippers, the team has announced.

Manu Ginobili suffered a strained left oblique muscle in the second half of today's game. No update on him or Tiago Splitter at this time.

—
San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) February 18, 2012

This is the second significant injury to the Spurs’ star shooting guard this season — Ginobili just recently returned from missing over a month with a broken left hand. Ginobili has played in just nine of the Spurs’ 31 games this season.

There’s currently no timetable in Ginobili, but the Spurs are going strong with or without the veteran guard. Today’s 103-100 overtime win was their 10th straight victory.

San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili will undergo surgery after breaking his left hand, according to My San Antonio.

Ginobili is expected to miss six-to-eight weeks after the surgery, according to the website.

The 34-year-old slasher was averaging 17.4 points and 3.0 assists per game in five contests with the Spurs this season. Over the last 10 seasons, Ginoboli has been an integral part of the Spurs offense alongside fellow speedster Tony Parker.

Ginobili tweeted about the surgery:

Tmrw I'll have a plate & screws on my beloved left hand. Not thrilled. I'll keep u posted. Thank u all!

—
Manu Ginobili (@manuginobili) January 04, 2012

The Spurs are currently atop the Southwest division of the Western Conference with a 3-2 record. Last season they posted a conference best 61-21 record.