Ginobili suffers broken hand,

"It's (the recovery) going well, just as planned. "Twelve days have passed since the surgery and yesterday I had the stitches taken out. I'm slowly doing exercises, I'm feeling better, gaining mobility - but it has to heal. The estimated time of recovery is five to six weeks and it's been one and a half now so we need to be patient."

"There's nothing positive about this injury and more so because of the five weeks out, especially with the season being short," Ginobili said. "I would have preferred to be playing, gaining rhythm. If you have an injury that sees you miss three or four games, it's okay, but more than that it is a setback. You have to start with physical work, getting the rhythm, so it's not positive."

Argentina recently discovered they will take on the United States in a friendly before the Olympics. Games against the United States, even warm-up games, are of great interest back home in Bahia Blanca.

"I found out a couple of days ago about that game," Ginobili said. It's just a friendly, nothing special. It's good to play against the best. We will play against Spain and Team USA, but at that time of preparation for the Olympics, we need to play against Spain, USA, Australia or any other team. It's good."

By Jeff McDonald

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — For much of the Spurs’ past few road trips, Manu Ginobili has been a ghost.

Still recovering from a broken left hand suffered Jan. 2 in Minnesota, the Spurs’ All-Star guard has been mostly hidden from public view, save for a few appearances behind the bench in street clothes.

Though still a few weeks away from returning to the court, Ginobili is out of his post-surgery splint and has been cleared to do some basketball work with his repaired hand.

“He’s shooting mid-range shots, lefty,” coach Gregg Popovich said Monday. “He’ll be cleared to go one-on-one in a week or so.”

Ginobili remains on a timetable that should put him back on the court at some point during the Spurs’ nine-game rodeo road trip next month. Including Monday’s 83-73 victory in Memphis, the Spurs are 10-7 with Ginobili sidelined.

The Spurs’ other injured guard, backup point T.J. Ford, is facing a later return from the torn left hamstring he suffered Jan. 10 at Milwaukee.

“He’s further away,” Popovich said. “Hamstrings are a tricky thing.”

By Jeff McDonald

PHILADELPHIA — At long last, the Spurs have a date targeted for Manu Ginobili to make his return from a broken left hand.

If all goes to plan, coach Gregg Popovich said, Ginobili is “likely” to play Saturday at New Jersey.

One sign Ginobili’s return is imminent: With a straight face, he lobbied Popovich to play Wednesday night in Philadelphia.

“I think it’s too early,” Popovich said. “We’d like to get him into a 5-on-5 situation before he plays. I think we’ll be able to do that this week.

“Probably, New Jersey is the first time he’ll be allowed to play, I think. I think that’s likely.”

The Spurs’ leading scorer when he went out, Ginobili has missed 22 games since fracturing his fifth metacarpal Jan. 2 at Minnesota.

Having already been cleared by team doctors to play, Ginobili’s return is now subject to the question of conditioning and confidence.

Leaving the Wells Fargo Center after the Spurs’ 100-90 win over the 76ers, Ginobili said his hand was structurally sound and pain-free. The only residual tenderness, he said, is in the scar leftover from surgery to repair the bone fracture.

“But I haven’t been hit yet; I haven’t had any contact,” Ginobili said. “I need to have a practice.”

Indeed, the final hurdle Ginobili must clear before Popovich will sign off on his comeback is a full-scale practice session. With an extra day off between games in Philadelphia and New Jersey, that test will come either today or Friday in New York.

If Ginobili survives that practice to Popovich’s satisfaction, the two-time All-Star is likely to come off the bench against the Nets.By Jeff McDonald

NEWARK, N.J. — A small crowd of students gathered outside the nondescript community college gym in midtown Manhattan on Friday, straining for a glimpse of the NBA team that had invaded their school.

Beyond the closed double doors, Spurs guard Manu Ginobili was going through a full-team, full-contact practice that would determine his availability for tonight’s game in New Jersey.

After about an hour, Ginobili emerged with the answer to one question, immediately giving rise to a host of others. Yes, he would play against the Nets, making his return from a broken left hand after a 39-day absence.

But.

“I don’t have great expectations for the first couple of games,” Ginobili said. “I just want to contribute, help a little bit. Just try to fit in again.”

Tonight at the Prudential Center, Ginobili rejoins a team on a roll. The Spurs went 15-7 in the 22 games he missed since his Jan. 2 injury in Minnesota, and own the NBA’s longest current winning streak at six games.

The Spurs (18-9) have ridden a wave of team chemistry to the top of the Southwest

Division, one spot below Oklahoma City in the Western

Conference. Players and coaches alike recognize the team might have to push pause on all of that to reintegrate the 34-year-old Ginobili into the rotation.

“Maybe it screws us up for a while, maybe it doesn’t,” coach Gregg Popovich said.

But.

It has to be done. The alternative — not reintegrating Ginobili — is too absurd even for words.

“No disrespect to my young teammates, but I don’t care how good they’re playing,” All-Star point guard Tony Parker said. “I’ll play with Manu any time of the day, even if he’s 50 percent.”

Popovich will ease Ginobili along slowly, perhaps bringing him off the bench at first, almost certainly limiting his playing time for a while.

Asked whether he has targeted a specific number of minutes for Ginobili tonight in New Jersey, Popovich said, “Not many.”

In truth, Ginobili has been gently prodding to get back on the floor since the start of the rodeo trip Monday in Memphis. As the days passed, Ginobili’s request became progressively more forceful.

Ginobili said he has full confidence in his surgically repaired fifth metacarpal. He doesn’t feel compelled to subdue his instinctive, breakneck style to accommodate it.

“I went for a couple steals (in practice), and I felt good,” Ginobili said.

That’s notable given the way Ginobili injured himself in the first place — making a feverish swipe at Minnesota’s Anthony Tolliver for a steal.

Ginobili admits he is in no kind of playing shape after the extended time off, but argued the only way to get there is on the court.

“I want to play,” said Ginobili, who was averaging a team-best 17.4 points at the time of his injury. “I need to be there. I can’t play one-on-one all year long.”

Having finally carved out an hour in the lockout-condensed schedule for a full practice, Popovich figures now is the time.

“He’s Manu,” Popovich said. “When he’s ready to go, you don’t care if you’re winning, losing. It doesn’t matter. He’s coming back.”

Ginobili’s return won’t come seamlessly.

Popovich will have to tweak a rotation that has produced results to find an increasing number of minutes for him. Somebody who is playing well — be it Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Gary Neal, Richard Jefferson, maybe even Parker — will lose time.

The Spurs might have to take a small step back in order to take a giant leap forward. If that’s the cost to get Ginobili back and in stride come playoff time, they are willing to pay it.

“We need Manu bad,” Parker said. “If we want to go anywhere — anywhere — in the playoffs, we need Manu 100 percent. It’s not even a question.”

Dripping Spurs Fan wrote:

“I’m a little tired,” Ginobili said. “My legs are a little sore after the long lockout and the short training camp.”

Even before his injury, Ginobili said his conditioning suffered.

“In the four games before I got hurt, I wasn’t even there in great shape and sitting for 40 days didn’t help me,” Ginobili said. “That’s why I have to be patient, take it easy and let the game come to me slowly. I’m not looking forward to too many things, taking too many shots. Just let it come to me.”