"Richard Jefferson's ankle injury turned out to be less severe than feared.

The Spurs' starting small forward was back on the practice court for the entirety of Tuesday's practice and has been cleared for Thursday's first preseason game in Houston.

"I was surprised," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Jefferson's speedy recovery from the ankle pain that forced him out of Monday's session. "I thought he was going to be hurting for a day or two, but he came right out, and he was great. He's fine."

Rookie center Tiago Splitter has had no such luck recovering from his injury. The strained plantaris muscle in his right calf needs more time to heal before he will be cleared to play.

"He's a couple weeks (away)," said Popovich, who then admitted to some uncertainty about Splitter's prognosis. "Ten days. Two weeks. Who knows? It's been a few days already. Before you know it, it will be a week.""