Manu Ginobili to Undergo Hand Surgery

San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili will have surgery on his broken left hand and is expected to miss at least two months of play.

Ginobili said Wednesday he will have a plate screwed onto his shooting hand Thursday, and that he is not thrilled about the injury and recovery process. Ginobili broke his fifth metacarpal during the second quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.

Ginobili broke his hand Monday night against Minnesota,
causing concern for Spurs fans.

Ginobili injured his shooting hand during the fifth game of the season when he fouled Anthony Tolliver as he was attempting a jumpshot. Before his injury, Ginobili was averaging 17.4 ppg and has now forced forward Tim Duncan to take over as the team's offensive centerpiece. It is unknown if Duncan, who turns 36 in April, will be able to lead the team successfully due to his questionable durability and aging body.

Because of Ginobili's absence, Gary Neal is now being put into rotation ahead of schedule after he had his appendix removed during training camp. Neal clearly has not had enough time to recover one hundred percent from the surgery, but it is a risk head coach Gregg Popovich is willing to take.

"We figured we might as well go ahead and throw him in to the fire," Popovich said.