Despite suffering a devastating injury during their preseason game on Wednesday, Charlotte Hornets forward Nicolas Batum is still full of optimism, and continues to focus on the positives. He still wants their fans to keep believing in their team, even if he’ll be forced to miss a significant amount of time.

The 28-year-old French international suffered a tear on his UCL muscle during the first quarter, and was immediately seen holding on to his left arm and in a lot of pain. He then took to his Twitter account recently to remind their supporters about the deep roster the Hornets have, and that they can expect him to be back on the court as soon as he recovers, especially with his shooting arm still at 100 percent.

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Batum is coming off his best year as a pro, where he had career-high averages of 15.1 points and 5.9 assists, to go along with 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. He was geared to have another strong run this coming season, but will now have to cheer his teammates on the sidelines.

He is slated to miss the next 8-12 weeks of action, as he will undergo surgery on the injured arm. If there’s any silver lining in his absence, rookie Malik Monk will be ready to take on his spot, and will have a good opportunity to prove his worth and play a huge role for the Hornets immediately.