"Starting small forward Richard Jefferson on Monday joined rookie center Tiago Splitter on the Spurs' injury list, tweaking his right ankle midway through a lengthy training camp session. The injury was not believed to be serious, and Jefferson may even be back at practice Wednesday and available for the first preseason game against the Rockets on Thursday at the Toyota Center in Houston. Splitter, meanwhile, continues to rehabilitate a strained plantaris muscle in his right calf while trying to learn as much as he can about the Spurs' offensive and defensive systems through observation. "With him, it's just as important to get the language down, what the calls are and a familiarity," coach Gregg Popovich said. "So he's kind of like an assistant coach, walking around the court, seeing what we're doing and just letting it all soak in. "That's about all he can do right now." Splitter has a personal mentor in Manu Ginobili, a fellow Spanish speaker who can relate to the rookie's frustration at being injured so early in his first camp. Ginobili came to the Spurs in 2002 with a badly sprained ankle suffered during the FIBA World Championships, held in early September in Indianapolis. He, too, had to sit out much of training camp. "I talk most with Tiago, because we both speak Spanish," Ginobili said. "He hasn't been practicing that much, so he's looking around and asking me a lot of questions about how we play. "It's tough. When you're a rookie, you just want to play and show everybody you can play. You want to show yourself you belong here. Having practiced once, and then getting hurt and watching the whole time is not easy. "I went through it for a long period, and you get impatient and just want to be out there. I tell him just to take it easy, and the most important thing right now is just get healthy."" http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/...injury_does_not_appear_serious_104320829.html
