Chicago Bulls rookie center Wendell Carter Jr. plans to undergo surgery for his left thumb injury on Monday, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium. Carter will miss up to three months.

Carter injured his thumb in Tuesday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Bulls initially feared it was a long-term injury, but then he was characterized as day-to-day before missing the loss to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday. The situation flipped again, however, with the Bulls announcing Friday that a specialist recommended surgery with a recovery timetable of eight to 12 weeks.

Carter could still return this season, but with Chicago suffering through a 10-36 campaign, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him play it safe and sit out. It wouldn't be an ideal way to end a rookie year, but the 19-year-old showed enough promise in his 44 games for the Bulls to feel good about him.

If this is the end for Carter's season, the 6-foot-10 big man will go down with averages of 10.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 25.2 minutes per game. Carter and Lauri Markkanen look like a formidable frontcourt duo for years to come, even if this Bulls season has been full of ugly losses.