Tony Parker has successful surgery, no timetable for return

LOS ANGELES, USA – San Antonio Spurs star Tony Parker has undergone successful surgery to repair a ruptured muscle tendon but there is no timetable for his eventual return, the NBA team said Friday, May 5.

Parker was ruled out of the remainder of the season after collapsing to the court during the Spurs’ win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.

The Spurs said in an injury update on Friday that the 34-year-old underwent an operation to fix his left quadriceps tendon in a procedure carried out by team physician David Schmidt.

“A timeline for Parker’s return will be determined at a later date,” the Spurs said.

On Wednesday, France’s Parker became the ninth player in playoff history to reach 4,000 career points.

He and Cleveland superstar LeBron James are now the NBA’s only players to have scored 4,000 points and recorded 1,000 assists in the playoffs.

Parker is in his 16th season in the NBA and has helped the Spurs to 4 NBA titles in the past.

Parker’s team meanwhile were looking ahead to life without the guard as they prepared for Game 3 of their series against Houston later Friday. The best-of-seven series is level at 1-1.

Argentine stalwart Manu Ginobili said Friday’s game would be the first playoff contest he has ever played without Parker on court.

“So it’s kind of strange, and a little bit sad,” Ginobili said during the shootaround.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich added that Parker’s leadership would be missed.

“His leadership, the way he’s been playing in the playoffs. Of course he’s going to be missed,” Popovich said.

“You lose a good player – somebody else has to step up. You don’t worry about it, you don’t cry about it, you just play.” – Rappler.com