Spurs' Gregg Popovich says Kawhi Leonard is dealing with a partial tear in shoulder

The Spurs were easing Leonard back into action after he missed the first 27 games of the season

The San Antonio Spurs have managed to put together a 27-13 record despite being without last year's NBA MVP finalist, Kawhi Leonard, for the majority of the season.

It now appears that Leonard will miss even more time, as Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said that his All-Star forward has a tear in his shoulder.

Pop said Leonard suffered a partial tear in his left shoulder Friday night against Phoenix: "It’s too bad. He was starting to get back into form a little bit after playing a couple of games." #Spurs

— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) January 8, 2018

Leonard had already been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Portland Trail Blazers. According to ESPN's Michael C. Wright, the Spurs aren't too concerned about the injury and they hope Leonard will be able to play on Thursday against the Lakers.

Even though Kawhi Leonard has a partial terse in his shoulder, the team at this point doesn't think it's serious. Team is hopeful he can play Thursday in LA against the Lakers.

— Michael C. Wright (@mikecwright) January 8, 2018

Leonard has played in only eight games this season, having missed the first 27 while recovering from a quad injury. While the team may be saying that they're not worried about the injury, the Spurs are one of the more cautious franchises in the league when it comes to maintaining their players' health.

Because of that, we can expect San Antonio to keep Leonard off the court until they're certain he can't do any further damage.