Cleveland Cavaliers guard Iman Shumpert has a ruptured Extensor Carpi Ulnaris sheath in his right wrist, the team announced Tuesday. Shumpert is expected to miss approximately 12 to 14 weeks after he undergoes surgery on his wrist.

The injury was revealed yesterday by Doctors Thomas Graham and Richard Parker after Shumpert received an MRI. He will have his surgery on Wednesday at Cleveland Clinic to repair the damage in his wrist.

Shumpert’s injury comes at a very unfortunate time, as the team has started training camp and the regular season is less than a month away. With him out at least three months, Shumpert may return in January at the earliest, causing him to miss half the season.

Injuries dismantled the Cavaliers last season, especially during the playoffs, and to start the season with a severe injury to their starting two guard is extremely disappointing.

“I think we look at this a very similar situation to what we went through in the playoffs last year: Next man up,” Cavs General Manager David Griffin said. “We have a roster we feel is deep enough to withstand one injury like this, and so we’re going to give people a chance to kind of absorb it from within, but obviously we’ve been paying attention to a lot of opportunities that we may be able to (use) to improve the group. We’ll just play it by ear.”

In Shumpert’s absence, J.R. Smith is expected to become the starting shooting guard, which was his original role during the regular season until after his suspension during the playoffs where he became the backup two guard. The Cavs will more than likely go to smaller lineups now by using Mo Williams as the backup shooting guard until Shumpert returns.

“We have depth,” LeBron James said. “And if it’s one position we have it, it’s at the guard spot. Bringing back Delly, re-signing J.R., bringing in Richard, bringing in Mo, we have depth at the guard spot.”

Shumpert, who signed a four-year, $40 million deal this summer, is the team’s defensive ace, and without him in the lineup, Cleveland’s perimeter defense may suffer.

During the postseason, the 25-year old averaged 9.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per contest but struggled with efficiency from the field, making just 36.0 percent of his shots. However, he was a major component to the team's success last season and will continue to be crucial to Cleveland's attempt to return to the NBA Finals.