The San Antonio Spurs (3-4) could be without one of their young core members for a while. Jeremy Sochan has a fractured left thumb and will undergo surgery this week, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

This is hugely disappointing news for the third-year forward, who has taken a noticeable step forward in multiple areas. Sochan is averaging 15.4 points and 7.7 rebounds while shooting 51 percent from the field through seven games this season. Spurs fans have had mixed feelings about the former top-10 NBA Draft pick, but he is progressing nicely with Chris Paul at point guard.

Though, there are other people who will argue that Sochan's growth was inevitable. He is only 21 years of age, after all, so there is plenty of time for him to keep working towards his impressive ceiling. That developmental process will be delayed for now, however.

Spurs are going through a lot right now

Sochan was ruled out for Monday's game versus the Los Angeles Clippers, which saw San Antonio squander an early 26-point lead and fall 113-104 on the road. His injury setback comes a day after it was announced that head coach Gregg Popovich will be away from the Spurs indefinitely due to a serious, undisclosed health issue.

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Needless to say, the team is going through a trying adjustment period. San Antonio interim head coach Mitch Johnson's job figures to be far more challenging without Jeremy Sochan in his starting lineup. Considering the offensive questions surrounding this group– even franchise pillar Victor Wembanyama is weathering some shooting struggles in this early portion of the season– losing a capable scorer for an extended period of time could significantly hamper the Spurs.

Or, Wembanyama, Paul and young players like Keldon Johnson, Stephon Castle and Malaki Branham can all come together and play with the intensity that fans have been anticipating for a bit now. San Antonio will try to push forward through all the adversity that has just been placed at its feet when it faces the Houston Rockets (4-3) on Friday night in the Toyota Center.