Rob Gray-Imagn Images The young forward, who was having a breakout season, will go under the knife and there’s no timeline for his return at this time. The Spurs announced some bad news on Tuesday. Jeremy Sochan, who didn’t play the second half of the game against the Clippers because of injury, suffered a fracture on his left thumb that will require surgery. The franchise didn’t provide a timeline for his return. It seems like Sochan suffered the injury while trying to get steal and ultimately fouling James Harden with 3:31 to go in the second quarter in the matchup against the Clippers. He immediately grabbed his left hand in pain, was subbed out and never returned. Now the nature of his injury is clear and it’s serious enough to require surgery, which could sideline Sochan for a while. It’s terrible timing for the Spurs, which were getting close to being injury-free, as Devin Vassell neared his return and Tre Jones was making progress. For Sochan, it’s probably incredibly frustrating to not be able to suit up and continue what has been a fantastic start to the season. The versatile forward was averaging 15.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and three assists per game and had taken a step forward on defense. He’s been crucial to San Antonio’s success, as evidenced by the fact that the Silver and Black had a terrible second half without him on Monday and coach Mitch Johnson struggled to find a rotation that worked without Sochan. Replacing him will be tough. Vassell should return soon, so he could simply slot in at shooting guard while Julian Champagnie and Harrison Barnes man the forward spots. A unit featuring Chris Paul, Victor Wembanyama and three outside threats should do well on offense. The issue is on the other end, where Sochan was always tasked with guarding the opponent’s best perimeter player. It will take a collective effort to attempt to make up for the solid work he did containing the most dangerous scorers. The second unit could also struggle even more than it has so far with him gone. Sochan did a lot when sharing the floor with mostly subs, from providing ball handling and driving ability to screening and diving as a center. Sandro Mamukelashvili, who could be an interesting option as a starter until Vassell is cleared to return, can replace Sochan’s off-ball movement to a degree, and Keldon Johnson will need to supply the rim pressure that will be missing, but no matter how well they play, Sochan will be missed. The good news is the Spurs will play eight of their next 10 games at home and they will face some weak opponents during that stretch. Vassell and Jones should return soon, too. Hopefully a somewhat favorable schedule and some reinforcements will allow San Antonio to avoid falling to the bottom of the West in the standings, but getting wins will be much tougher without Sochan. Hopefully, he won’t be out for too long.