San Antonio Spurs: Tony Parker’s quad injury ‘worse’ than Kawhi Leonard’s

San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker made an interesting comparison between his quadriceps injury and Kawhi Leonard’s.

Kawhi Leonard’s right quadriceps injury has remained a mystery for most of the 2017-18 season. It limited him to nine games, a number that might not change before the end of this campaign. Thus keeping the San Antonio Spurs roster one man down.

No one knows when Leonard suffered this injury, or how severe it was, but Tony Parker’s own quad ailment preluded his in May. This happened during Round 2 of the 2017 Western Conference Semifinals, which saw the Spurs defeated the Houston Rockets. Parker tore his quad but returned in in November after missing the first month of the 2017-18 season.

According to Michael Singer of USA Today, Parker compared his quad injury to Leonard’s. He spoke on the rehab and how long it took, but notably called his own “a hundred times worse.”

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“I’ve been through it,” Parker, who reportedly spearheaded the meeting, told reporters Friday. “It was a rehab for me for eight months. Same kind of injury (as Leonard’s), but mine was a hundred times worse, but the same kind of injury. You just try to stay positive.”

How much worse than the San Diego State product’s? Well, it’s impossible to know until someone, if ever, reveals the extent of the injury and why it has taken so long to heal. This first arrived at the end of September 2017, so it’s about six months into the process, including the games he played in. Parker took nearly seven months to return, from the injury on May 3, 2017, to his return on Nov. 27.

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If the Spurs do not choose to bring Leonard back before the season ends, a regular-season return in October would mark nine months since his last game. Will that be enough rest and rehab time to heal the injury? Will five years and over $200 million ease the pain?