Los Angeles Lakers guard Talen Horton-Tucker will miss the start of the season and more due to a thumb injury. Horton-Tucker has a torn ligament in his right thumb and will undergo surgery, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin and Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

This is an unfortunate blow for a Lakers team that already lost Trevor Ariza for a while with an ankle injury. Guard Malik Monk is also currently sidelined with a groin injury, though he's expected to be back soon.

It's unclear just how much time THT will miss, but here's a guess from an injury expert:

Horton-Tucker is entering his third season in the NBA after getting picked in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft. He's still just 20 years old and has shown flashes of being a legitimate difference-making player on the court. Los Angeles gave him a three-year, $32 million deal to be one of the youngsters on a veteran-laden squad.

Horton-Tucker is the Lakers' second-leading scorer in preseason with 12.7 points per game. It has been a rough go of it in preseason for L.A. in general, as Sunday's 123-94 loss to the Phoenix Suns dropped them to 0-4.

Of course, that doesn't matter much. The Lakers' new Big Three still hasn't played together yet (it's coming Tuesday), and there's plenty of time for this new roster to mesh and build chemistry. While these early injuries are not ideal and represent a setback for the franchise, there's a long season ahead.