Photo: Tom Reel /San Antonio Express-News Photo: JERRY LARA, Staff / San Antonio Express-News Photo: Staff File Photo

DALLAS — It looks like Spurs coach Gregg Popovich can finally put “sooner rather than later” on the shelf when it comes to the status of All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard.

The Spurs on Monday upgraded Leonard to probable for Tuesday night’s game against the Mavericks, the strongest indication to date the team and its franchise player will soon be reunited on the court.

“We’re excited to have him back and see how he feels,” center Pau Gasol said.

The sight of a sweat-drenched Leonard greeted reporters when they were ushered into the portion of Monday morning’s practice open to the media, a clear signal he likely would be upgraded.

At previous practices, there were no signs the two-time All-Star and two-time defensive player of the year had exerted himself much.

“He’s looking good and practicing with us,” point guard Tony Parker said after the workout.

Leonard has yet to play this season due to an injury shrouded in mystery the Spurs have labeled right quadriceps tendinopathy. He sat out the entire preseason and has missed all 27 regular-season games.

Through much of it, Popovich responded to questions about a target date for Leonard’s return with the pat answer of “sooner rather than later.”

If Leonard returns Tuesday as expected, it will be his first game action since last May 14, when the Spurs fell 113-111 to Golden State in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

With San Antonio up by 23 points, Leonard left that game with 7:55 left in the third quarter after tweaking his already sore left ankle. He was sidelined for the rest of the series, which Golden State swept.

The Spurs have said the quadriceps tendinopathy is not related to the ankle injury.

In the months before training camp started on Sept. 25, Leonard worked out in his home state of California before spending a week in China during August to visit the NBA’s basketball training center for that country’s top male and female prospects.

Then during an intersquad scrimmage at the AT&T Center on Sept. 30, the Spurs shocked their fans and the NBA by announcing Leonard would sit out the preseason to further rehab his quadriceps ailment, which Popovich said surfaced last season.

When the 2017-18 season began Oct. 18, the 26-year-old Leonard remained sidelined. And he was still out on Nov. 27, when the 35-year-old Parker returned from the career-threatening left quadriceps tendon he tore in the Western Conference semifinals last May.

“It was never expected we would play 20-plus games without him,” Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said of Leonard. “It was not in our heads. It was expected with Tony, but (not Leonard).”

If Leonard returns Tuesday, he will have started his comeback against the same team Parker did. The Spurs also upgraded Danny Green to probable for Tuesday after he sat out Saturday’s win in Phoenix with a groin injury.

Despite not having Leonard and Parker, who missed the first 19 games, the Spurs managed to stay among the NBA’s elite teams, winning 70 percent of their games.

Thanks in large part to the outstanding play of LaMarcus Aldridge and impressive support from the rest of the crew, including career numbers from Kyle Anderson as he filled in for Leonard until a knee injury Dec. 3 sidelined him, the Spurs will enter Tuesday’s game with a 19-8 record that ranks third in the Western Conference behind Houston and Golden State.

“We’ve had different guys step up on different nights, score for us and make stops on defense,” Popovich said. “LA and Kyle Anderson have been the real stalwarts. Those guys have been steady, steady throughout this. And everybody else has contributed. It’s a good, solid group of people, and they have hung in there pretty good.”

Gasol agreed.

“We can be proud of the work we’ve done so far,” he said. “Now it’s about Kawhi coming back and incorporating him and adjusting to that and being just as good or better.”

It’s uncertain whether Leonard will be on a minutes’ restriction similar to Parker, who has yet to play more than 20 minutes and only recently started seeing time in the fourth quarter.

And, of course, the big question will be how much of an impact Leonard, who averaged a career-best 25.5 points last season, will have on Aldridge, who is averaging 22.7 points, up 5.4 from last season.

“There will probably be an adjustment phase in some way, shape or form,” Popovich said. “We’re going to add somebody who is going to have the ball a lot, and he’s pretty good. They’ll all have to adjust.”

Gasol, for one, is optimistic the transition will be smooth.

“We know how to play the game,” he said. “We basically just play with the same principles regardless of who is on the floor. With a player the caliber of Kawhi, things should be a little smoother.”

torsborn@express-news.net

Twitter: @tom_orsborn