Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard will be sidelined “indefinitely to begin the NBA season” as he continues to rehabilitate inflammation in his right knee, ESPN’s Shams Charania and Ohm Youngmisuk reported Thursday.

Leonard has not played or contacted preseason practices due to the knee infection.

Youngmisuk reported about it earlier NBA today that Leonard was “iffy” about the Clippers’ Oct. 23 season opener against the Phoenix Suns.

According to Youngmisuk, the team will likely “err on the side of caution” as they focus on keeping Leonard healthy for later in the 2024-2025 season.

Leonard missed both the Clippers’ 2023-2024 postseason finale and the 2024 Olympics in Paris with the same problem.

Prior to the injury, Leonard earned the sixth All-Star title of his career while averaging 23.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 68 regular-season starts in 2023-2024. He shot a career-best 52.5 percent while adding 1.6 steals and 0.9 blocks per game.

However, for the third straight postseason, Leonard was limited by injury by the time the playoffs started.

After missing the final eight games of the regular season and the first game of the playoffs, Leonard returned to an average of 12.0 points in two postseason appearances before being sidelined again by inflammation of the the surgically repaired knee he injured in 2021 and 2023.

Leonard subsequently left the Olympics after attending three training camp practices with Team USA. Team USA executive director Grant Hill told reporters that the decision to sideline Leonard was in the best interest of “the Clippers and Kawhi.”

Leonard missed the entire 2021-2022 season after tearing his right ACL during the 2021 postseason.

His 2023 postseason was cut short when he suffered a meniscus tear in his right knee, followed by his shortened 2024 postseason due to inflammation.

Leonard’s injury history is a pressing concern for the Clippers, especially given the three-year extension he signed in January that locked him to Los Angeles through the 2026-27 season.

Paul George’s offseason departure to the Philadelphia 76ers made Leonard more important than ever to the Clippers. James Harden, who signed a two-year extension last summer, will be called upon to lead the team’s offense through a tough Western Conference as the Clippers work to get Leonard back on the court as quickly as possible.