SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) — Four-time National Basketball Association champion Stephen Curry said he was relieved that he won't need surgery on his partially dislocated left shoulder, but had no timetable for his return.

Curry suffered the injury when he tried to make a steal during the reigning NBA champion Golden State Warriors' 125-119 loss at Indiana on Wednesday.

An MRI showed the extent of the damage and confirmed he would not need an operation to repair the shoulder.

"From what I know about shoulder injuries and situations like that, avoiding surgery is great news," Curry said.

"I'll try to figure out how to get pain-free quickly, get the strength back and work my way back into it appropriately."

The 34-year-old superstar guard, a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, said he would have missed at least the remainder of the season if surgery had been required.

"Surgery would have been four to six months," Curry said.

"Nobody was trying to deal with that right now."

Curry will be sidelined indefinitely as he prepares for rehabilitation work to begin once his shoulder no longer hurts.

"I've just got to trust the plan we have and do my work," Curry said.

"There's a couple guys I've seen that had a little bit more severe cases, their timelines. You kind of do your guesswork," Curry said. "You try to stay away, me mentally, from how long it's going to be because (the injury) will let me know."

Regarding the possibility of surgery on the shoulder after the season, Curry said, "It will let me know if that's necessary or not."