Ankle operation for Spurs guard Ginobili

By Simon Evans

MIAMI (Reuters) - San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili will undergo ankle surgery next week, the team said on Friday.

The 31-year-old was a member of Argentina's Olympic bronze medal-winning squad in Beijing.

Ginobili first sustained the injury to his left ankle against the Phoenix Suns in this year's NBA playoffs but battled through to the end of the season and was then allowed to play in the Olympics.

"He re-aggravated the injury in the tournament semi-final versus the U.S. on August 22," the Spurs said in a statement.

"An MRI (scan) earlier this week confirmed he had re-aggravated the injury and that there was no additional damage to the ankle or ligament."

The Spurs did not know when Ginobili would be back in action although the player said in his column on the website of the Buenos Aires daily Nacion (www.lanacion.com.ar) that the recovery period would be six to eight weeks.

San Antonio opens its regular season against Phoenix on October 29.

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)