San Antonio Spurs' Pau Gasol out with stress foot fracture

San Antonio Spurs' centre Pau Gasol has suffered a stress fracture in his left foot with no timetable for his return.

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich confirmed the news on Wednesday after a second medical opinion found the fracture, putting Gasol's foot back in a boot.

The 38-year-old did not travel with the team to Minnesota, in what became a 129-89 loss for Spurs, and had been out since November 7 with soreness in his foot - although he had been doing light work on the court.

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"They took him off because they got a second opinion that it was a stress fracture," said Popovich. "That's what they told me, so it's not a secret I guess.

"So they put him back in the boot. The players in the second unit miss him because they had a lot of movement around him, he's a good passer.

"He can find them so him not being there has really affected that second group."

In what is his 17th season as an NBA player, Gasol, who was being used mostly from the bench, was averaging 6.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 17.4 minutes.

The Spurs are now 10-11 for the season and will face the Houston Rockets this weekend.