The Texas Longhorns got hit with some brutal injury news earlier this week as fall practice officially gets underway.

The team announced Wednesday that Saint Mary’s transfer guard Mikey Lewis will be out an “extended period of time” after suffering a fracture in his right foot during practice. He already underwent surgery and is on the road to recovery.

Fortunately, the injury is not expected to be season-ending but it was undoubtedly news that Texas fans didn’t want to hear.

Though not expected to be a starter, Lewis was set to be one of the team’s more valuable pieces as an unofficial sixth man off the bench due to his scoring ability and experience. The injury news hit some of his new teammates hard, but they’re ready to step to the plate as Lewis begins the recovery process.

Texas Freshman Guards Set for Bigger Role With Mikey Lewis Out

While speaking with the media on Wednesday, Texas freshman guard Joe Sterling made it clear he hated to see Lewis go down with an injury.

"It's terrible what happened to him on Monday, obviously, I wish him the best in the recovery," Sterling said.

But as one of the freshman that's started to receive increased hype as of late, Sterling is ready to step up with Lewis out.

"Someone has to step up and take those minutes that he was going to get," Sterling said. "So yeah, it definitely is an opportunity. But I think first and foremost, we just want to be there for him right now, and eventually, like you said, he'll come back. But while he's gone, it's just filling that void of him being gone."

Texas freshman guard Bo Ogden echoed Sterling's words.

"Mikey's a big piece of the team, and we're gonna be with him while he's recovering that foot, and we'll get him back, and that'll make us an even better team," Ogden said. "But in the meantime guys got to step up and fill that fill that gap."

Lewis' injury is unfortunate, but if there's a silver lining, it's that the true freshman could get thrown into the fire more than expected.

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