Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller shared an important injury update ahead of the team's season opener against Chicago State in Austin on Monday.

While speaking with reporters, Miller said that Texas forward John Clark has been dealing with a broken bone in his hand that he suffered in practice a few weeks back.

Clark redshirted all of last season and didn't appear in game but was expected to have a reserve role off the bench in the frontcourt this year. Fortunately, it appears the injury is nearly behind him as the regular season gets underway.

What Sean Miller Said About John Clark's Hand Injury

Miller said that Clark has missed the last three weeks due to the hand injury. This makes sense why he didn't play in Texas' exhibition against St. John's last weekend.

"John broke a bone in his hand," Miller said. "... He has crossed the three-week mark. ... He's really missed the last three weeks. But it just happened in practice. He went up to block a shot, hit his hand."

Miller added that Clark can do non-contact work and could be cleared as soon as this Thursday. This means he will miss the opener against Chicago State but could play on Thursday against Gardner-Webb.

"He's been out. He's now rejoined our team, and he can do non-contact things," Miller said of Clark. "We think John could be cleared to play as soon as this Thursday. So he'll have a month behind him."

John Clark Interview From March Madness

In an exclusive interview with Texas Longhorns on SI from March Madness last season, Clark talked about his decision to redshirt as a true freshman along with a few other comments. He said that he had been dealing with a hand injury since high school.

It's unclear if the new injury is on the same hand or if it's the same type of injury.

Take a look:

"I would say what led to redshirting, just me coming off injury in high school, hand injury, it set me back and put me behind and the redshirt was the best thing for me to do, being behind and just learning from other guys and their experience," Clark said.

Clark originally committed to Rodney Terry but Miller and the new coaching staff built a relationship with him and wanted him to stay at Texas.

"Initially, I was committed to (Rodney Terry) and whenever he got fired, Coach Miller and the staff reached out," Clark said. "They always had open arms since they had the position here. So, you know, just them being open to trusting in me to be on the team."