CHAPEL HILL, N.C. _ North Carolina freshman point guard Cole Anthony underwent an arthroscopic knee procedure Monday morning, according to the university.
He is expected to miss four to six weeks as he recovers from a partially torn meniscus.
Anthony's injury was said to have occurred over time and not during one play.
Losing Anthony for an extended period puts the Tar Heels' season and their chances to make the NCAA Tournament in jeopardy. Anthony, a 6-3, 190-pound guard, leads the Tar Heels in scoring this season with 19.1 points per game. Prior to missing UNC's game against Wofford on Sunday, he was responsible for one-third of the Tar Heels' shots. He also leads the team with 3.6 assists and is third on the team with 6.3 rebounds per game.
The Tar Heels have lost four of their last five games and face No. 2 Gonzaga on the road Wednesday. Anthony did not make the trip.
If Anthony were to return after four to six weeks, that would mean he would return anywhere between Jan. 18 and Feb. 3, prior to its two games with Duke and its home game against Virginia. He could miss at least nine games this season.
UNC (6-4), which was ranked No. 17 last week, fell out of the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since the 2014 season after its most recent loss to Wofford.
The Tar Heels were also ranked No. 95 in the NCAA's first NET rankings released on Monday. The NET rankings are one of the primary tools the NCAA's selection committee uses to compare teams when determining who will make the NCAA Tournament.
"Obviously not having a player of Cole's caliber will be a tremendous challenge to our young team, but we have to play," UNC coach Roy Williams said in a statement. No one player is going to replace the production Cole Anthony gives us, so it's up to everyone who puts on a North Carolina jersey to raise his game, and help our team play better."
