Spurs center Tiago Splitter will see a back specialist in Los Angeles on Monday in hopes of getting to the bottom of a nerve problem that has cost him all but 10 minutes of the season.
The starter in 50 games last season, Splitter missed 24 games with a variety of ailments, including the same calf strain that has kept him sidelined most of the pre-season and for four of the team’s five regular season games.
Doctors now believe the problem with Splitter’s calf is related to inflammation in a disc that was discovered in an MRI exam taken after he took himself out of Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks.
“They found a little inflammation in a disc,” Splitter said before Saturday’s tipoff against the Pelicans at AT&T Center. “Nothing like a hernia or anything like that. It’s not a sciatic problem. But it’s something that gives me more tension in the nerve of the calf and gives me these problems. We don’t know if it is a problem in the calf or the back. It’s complicated.
“We’re going to see a back specialist and see what he says about it and see what he suggests to do.”
Splitter will travel with the Spurs to Los Angeles when they depart San Antonio for a Tuesday game against the Clippers at Staples Center.
Hopefully he gets some good news tomorrow and they find out exactly what is causing the problem. We can't afford to lose him for an extended amount of time.
