Los Angeles Lakers point guard Rajon Rondo is expected to undergo hand surgery and miss a month of action, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Rondo missed Thursday's loss to the Sacramento Kings after injuring his hand on Christmas Day against the Golden State Warriors. He and teammate LeBron James did not travel to Sacramento, which left the young Lakers with a lack of leadership during their West Coast road trip.

Rondo had just returned on Dec. 21 after missing the previous 17 games following surgery to repair a fractured third metacarpal in his right shooting hand, and now he is forced to endure another procedure to get back on the floor.

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The mercurial point guard was bright against the Warriors, putting up a swift 15-point, 10-assist double-double with no turnovers in 23 minutes of action, the kind of glowing performance this team will miss in the near future, as he and James miss games during this trying stretch of the season.

Despite coming off the bench, Rondo is averaging 8.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 6.7 assists through 14 games for this Lakers team, but more importantly playing a mentorship role with this young core, which has gotten off to a 20-15 start to the season.

Rondo's injury history continues to be a potential problem for this team, despite being on a one-year deal, given he has already missed 21 games and is bound to miss many more over the next month.