Stephen Curry eager to return from leg injury, play for Warriors as soon as Friday against Minnesota

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Only in the last few days did Stephen Curry fully regain range of motion in his injured left thigh so he could resume all activity on the practice floor with the Golden State Warriors.

Now, Curry hopes he's ready to play at full speed again.

Coach Steve Kerr said Thursday the 37-year-old two-time MVP is expected to return for Friday's game against Minnesota following a five-game absence nursing a left quadriceps contusion and muscle strain. The Warriors went 3-2 without him, and now he is expected to play alongside younger brother Seth Curry for the first time.

“Feeling great. I had a good rehab week and the guys took care of business on the trip, so that was great to see the energy coming back,” Stephen Curry said after practice Thursday. “I'm happy to practice the last couple days to see how I feel. After these last two sessions I'm pretty optimistic.”

He stayed home from the recent road trip to rehab and participated in his first practice with the team Wednesday at Chase Center. Curry said he would spend 4 to 6 hours at Chase Center by himself with the medical and training staffs working to get healthy.

“A lot of long days. You always talk about rehab, it's monotonous, especially when the team is away,” he said. “You've got to have some really good playlists.”

Curry was injured during Golden State’s 104-100 loss to the Houston Rockets on Nov. 26. He dealt with pain tolerance in the bottom area of his quad to be able to move the leg the way he needs to, and also had to rebuild some lost strength not just in the strained muscle but the surrounding areas.

“That's what the work has been the last week and as I got full range of motion back, then I could get back out on the floor pretty quickly and get back to moving normally,” he said.

Curry, in his 17th NBA season, and Houston’s Amen Thompson went down hard under the basket with 3:24 remaining and the game tied at 91 after Thompson’s drive to the hoop, which initially was whistled an offensive foul. Houston challenged and the call was overturned to a block by Curry — who grimaced in pain on the floor. He limped to the locker room with 35 seconds left.

His teammates took pride in holding down the fort while he was out — and Curry noticed the effort and energy, most recently in a 123-91 win against the Bulls on Sunday.

“You just want guys playing with confidence, and that's what it ended up being like in Chicago,” Curry said. “It was great to see. Everybody felt involved, everybody was playing, reading the game and taking the shots that you're supposed to take. So nothing should change when I'm out there.”

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