Leonard to rejoin Spurs, eyeing March return —report

San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard intends to resume working at the team's facility this week and hopes to return from a nagging quad injury by late March, according to an ESPN report on Monday.

Per the report, Leonard is back in San Antonio after spending the past three weeks in New York, where he sought further consultation on his right quad and worked out at the National Basketball Players Association's gym. He is expected to push to return to full five-on-five practices with the Spurs in the near future.

Leonard, 26, missed the team's first 27 games of the season with right quadriceps tendinopathy before playing Dec. 13. The injury continued to bother him, and he played just nine games before returning to the sideline and stepping away from the team.

Reports emerged last week that Leonard has been medically cleared to return, but head coach Gregg Popovich said he would be surprised if the two-time Defensive Player of the Year got back on the court this season.

"Well, we only have X number of games left in the season and he's still not ready to go," Popovich said. "If by some chance he is, it's going to be pretty late into the season and it'll be a tough decision how late you bring somebody back. That's why I'm trying to be honest and logical. I'll be surprised if he gets back this year."

There have also been reports of a growing rift between Leonard and the team over how the injury has been handled, but those rumors have been dismissed by the team and Leonard's uncle.

Leonard is averaging 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 23.3 minutes per game this season. —Field Level Media/Reuters