Pacers' George Hill dealing with quad tear

It turns out the preseason leg injury George Hill suffered was a lot worse than originally thought.

The Indiana Pacers' point guard has been dealing with a tear in his left quad muscle, reports Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports. Hill has yet to play a game this season, and Pacers coach Frank Vogel said the tear is the reason it has taken him so long to get back on the court.

"They didn't see that on the original MRI because there was too much blood on the initial picture," Vogel said.

The injury occurred when Hill went knee-to-knee with the Minnesota Timberwolves' Ricky Rubio just prior to the start of the regular season. He was originally diagnosed with a left knee contusion.

Hill, who averaged 10.3 points and 3.5 assists as the Pacers' starting point guard last season, is still expected to be back in mid-December, Vogel said.

The injury-riddled Pacers finally received some good news Friday, as power forward David West and point guard C.J. Watson returned to make their season debuts.

Indiana has been without West, Watson, Hill, and Paul George. They also recently lost Roy Hibbert to an ankle injury. The Pacers have played decent basketball despite the early-season adversity thrown their way, taking a 6-9 record - good for ninth place in the weak Eastern Conference - into Friday's game against the Orlando Magic.