UNC senior guard Marcus Paige will be sidelined for the next three to four weeks with a fractured hand, the university announced Wednesday.

A release from Carolina reports Paige fractured the third metacarpal on his right hand in practice on Tuesday.

The left-handed Paige will definitely miss some regular season action. Through his first three seasons, Paige had only missed one game for the Tar Heels.

Head coach Roy Williams said, “I hate it for Marcus. He’s such a wonderful young man – one of the most outstanding people I have been lucky to coach. I know he’ll handle this with the same level of maturity that he does everything else.

“Our team will certainly be challenged in his absence. We will need everyone up and down the roster to step up their games and take care of each other and our team until he gets back.”

Paige is a two-time captain at Carolina. He has averaged more than 13 points per game and has dished out 474 assists during his time at UNC. Paige needs only nine three pointers to become Carolina’s all-time leader, after finishing his junior season with 225 three-point field goals.

Carolina was voted the top team in the country heading into the season earlier this week.

Carolina has an exhibition game scheduled for Friday night against Guilford. The Tar Heels will being regular-season play against Temple in Annapolis, Md., in the Veterans Day Classic on November 13.

The injury means Paige may miss a top-five showdown with the Maryland Terrapins in Chapel Hill, on December 1, as part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. The Marion, Iowa, native may also miss his homecoming game on November 21, at Northern Iowa.