The mystery surrounding Kawhi Leonard's injury has turned into an unnecessary saga for the San Antonio Spurs and it continues to take strange twists almost on a weekly basis.

ESPN reported that the small forward was due to make a comeback last week in an encounter with the New Orleans Pelicans but he ultimately chose not to and still remains sidelined with his quad injury.

Head coach Gregg Popovich then gave a strange update as he said the All-Star will not return until "his doctors clear him to do so."

This would suggest that the decision is out of the team's hands and it raised further question marks.

Just days ago, veteran Manu Ginobili chose to weigh in on the topic and added further doubt to his teammate's chances of playing at all this year.

"He is not coming back," Ginobili said, per ESPN's Michael C. Wright. "For me, he's not coming back because it's not helping [to think Leonard is returning]. We fell for it a week ago again. I guess you guys made us fall for it.

"But we have to think that he's not coming back, that we are who we are, and that we got to fight without him. That shouldn't be changing, at least until he is ready for the jump ball."

It would appear that Ginobili certainly knew something and this was revealed on Thursday as another interesting report emerged from this bizarre situation.

According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Spurs held a players-only meeting with Leonard in an effort to implore him to come back and help them in their playoff push.

Woj stated that Tony Parker led the meeting after a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night and that non-players were asked to leave the locker room.

Per Wojnarowski: "The conversation was described as tense and emotional at times. Several teammates spoke up, expressing frustration and confusion over a growing divide that has created significant tension between Leonard and the Spurs. Outside the Spurs locker room, players' voices could be heard through the door, sources said.

"Leonard remained resolute in his response, insisting that he has good reason to continue sitting out because he still isn't fully healthy, sources said. Leonard told his teammates that he planned to return once he felt able to do so, sources said."

This has turned into an unwanted sideshow for San Antonio and at this stage, it remains unclear if the two-time Defensive Player of the Year will make a return over the coming weeks or in the playoffs if they secure a spot.

Their chances of making it to the postseason look much better than they did just a week ago as they've reeled off a five-game winning streak and have jumped from 10th to fifth in the west.

Having their superstar back would elevate them from just being a playoff team to competing for a championship, but the news coming out of the Spurs camp would suggest that they're not banking on it.

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