SAN ANTONIO (AFP) - Argentinian guard Manu Ginobili joined the San Antonio Spurs' growing injury list on Wednesday as the NBA team said he would miss three to four weeks with a hamstring strain.

Ginobili strained his left hamstring on a dunk in the third quarter of Tuesday's 97-90 defeat at Houston.

An MRI exam on Wednesday revealed the extent of the damage.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had already said on Tuesday night that the 36-year-old Ginobili would sit out Wednesday's game against the Chicago Bulls.

"I can't take that chance," Popovich said of the possibility Ginobili could be lost for even longer.

The reigning Western Conference champions, who fell to the Miami Heat in last year's NBA championship finals, were already without key contributors Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Tiago Splitter.

Leonard and Green both have hand injuries and Splitter is nursing an ailing shoulder.

"What can I tell you," Popovich told the San Antonio Express-News. "It is frustrating, but I don't know what we can do about it. We've just got to get our other guys to step up and play." Ginobili, who had missed two games in January with tightness in the same hamstring has averaged 12.1 points, 4.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds in 42 games this season.