It's been a rough couple of days for the San Antonio Spurs.
After news of head coach Gregg Popovich being out indefinitely with illness came out on Monday, less than 24 hours later it's being reported that forward Jeremy Sochan will miss time with a fractured left thumb.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the former ninth-overall pick in 2022 will require surgery for the injury.
Sochan, 21, had taken a step up in his third NBA season, averaging career-highs in points (15.4), rebounds (7.7), steals (1.0) and field goal percentage (51.2) through seven games.
He appeared to suffer the injury on Monday in San Antonio's loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Leaving the contest at the 3:31 mark of the first half after scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds in 12 minutes of action.
The Baylor product has helped the Spurs get off to a solid start at 3-4, even winning back-to-back games before Monday's 113-104 loss. San Antonio led by as many as 26 points with Sochan on the floor but Los Angeles rallied and picked up its first home victory in the new Intuit Dome.
Managing the sidelines in that contest was Mitch Johnson, Spurs assistant and interim coach in place of Popovich. The San Antonio head coach for the last 29 seasons did not travel with the team on its current road trip as he deals with an illness, and there is currently no timeline for return.
On Tuesday, Charania reported there is "a great level of concern around the situation."
Former assistants Tim Duncan and Becky Hammon have also served as Spurs head coach because of an illness or medical procedure for Popovich in the past five seasons.
Popovich is the NBA’s career leader with 1,390 victories and another 170 postseason wins while winning five NBA titles. He is in his 29th season, all with San Antonio.
The Spurs return to action on Wednesday as they visit the Houston Rockets.
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