Is Victor Wembanyama playing tonight for Spurs vs. Trail Blazers?

Victor Wembanyama, the San Antonio Spurs' MVP candidate, suffered a left rib contusion that kept him out of the second half of the Spurs' 115-102 victory against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, April 6. The Spurs had listed his status as doubtful for their home contest against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday, April 8 at 9:30 p.m. ET.

Following testing and imaging, there was a sigh of relief in San Antonio.

A person with direct knowledge of the matter told USA TODAY Sports that the team is optimistic about the injury. Wembanyama has soreness, but there are no long-term concerns about his availability.

They remain hopeful that their 22-year-old two-time All-Star will be available to play Friday, April 10 against the Dallas Mavericks or Sunday, April 12 against the Denver Nuggets. The person spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly disclose details about Wembanyama's injury.

Is Victor Wembanyama playing vs. Trail Blazers?

No. After initially designating him as doubtful Tuesday on their first official injury report, the Spurs downgraded Wembanyama on Wednesday to out against Portland.

Backup center Luke Kornet is a likely candidate to start in his place.

Victor Wembanyama injury

Wembanyama seemed to be hurt on separate occasions against the 76ers. The first happening came during the second quarter, following a mid-court collision with 76ers forward Paul George. Wembanyama appeared to clutch his shoulder as he went down. He went to the locker room for a moment but returned to finish the quarter.

Later in the second quarter, with 2:56 left to play in the half, Wembanyama made a layup and bumped into Spurs forward Keldon Johnson as he landed. Wembanyama immediately grimaced and labored through the free throw.

After finishing the quarter, he sat the entire second half. Wembanyama finished the game with 17 points, five rebounds and three blocks in 16 minutes.

Award eligibility: 65-game threshold

For Wembanyama to be eligible for end of the season awards such as Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year, he needs to appear in at least one of San Antonio’s remaining three games.

Additionally, he needs to play at least 20 minutes to meet the 65-game threshold required for individual awards eligibility.

Wembanyama was atop of the NBA Kia MVP Ladder, prior to the Spurs-76ers game but his MVP odds dropped after the injury news hit.