“His will to sacrifice for the team is always up. It’s a pleasure to share the court with him.” Not every Spurs player gets a chance to receive praise from Victor Wembanyama himself. Then again, not everyone is Jeremy Sochan. Playing his third season with the San Antonio Spurs, he has been on the right track in the last 6 games. His assisting in the offensive effort alongside Wemby placed the franchise with a 3-3 win record. We’d sorely miss his presence for the duration of the ongoing game at the Intuit Dome!

Jeremy Sochan exited before the midway break during the Spurs-Clippers game. Later reports revealed that the hooper had sustained a left thumb injury. This kept him out for the rest of the game. Sochan exited the court after scoring only 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal in 12 minutes. They now continue the 4th quarter, though, the Clippers are moving in quickly to close the points gap.

Sochan’s absence seems to have affected the Spurs to a great extent. The same team that held a 56-48 advantage at halftime trailed by 102-110 with 42 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter. In the end, the Clippers were able to utilize their new home-court advantage.

Victor Wembanyama and Julian Champagnie made 24 and 21 points, respectively. Zach Collins and Keldon Johnson, who came on to cover for their injured teammate, added another 14 points combined. However, the Clippers also had 2 players who went 20+ with their scoring. 4 others made 10 points or more. As a result, Coach Pop’s team once again holds a record with more losses than wins.

Jeremy Sochan had entered the ongoing tournament with a renewed mindset to dominate. The previous season, the player held an out-of-position role for the major part of the year. Coined as The Jeremy Sochan Experiment, being in an unnatural role did not work out well. As the hooper revealed in October, playing at his natural position “feels good.”

It yielded some proper results, as Jeremy Sochan averaged 13.5 points in the preseason, and 17.3 during the ongoing season by taking his field goals to 50.6%, three-pointers to 28.7%, and free throw accuracy to 68%. This was certainly not the right time to lose him.

When can Jeremy Sochan be expected to return?

The exact details regarding how long Jeremy Sochan will be absent cannot be determined yet. That is until an official confirmation is provided by the Spurs. The same will only be possible once some tests are done, the details of which won’t take long to be revealed.

Per a report by The Journal of Hand Surgery, a thumb ligament tear could sideline an NBA player for a maximum of 67.5 days. In the case of a metacarpal fracture, the NIH reports an average time between the injury and the return date can be as much as 57 days (if opted for surgery) and 26 days (without surgery.) The Cleveland Clinic, however, posts that a mild sprain can heal within 4 to 6 weeks.

The Spurs currently possess a 3-4 win record after last night. Losing their prominent scorer won’t help them to establish a noticeable win record anytime soon. Therefore, all that Wemby and Spurs fans can hope for is for Jeremy Sochan’s condition to not be as serious.