​The Atlanta Hawks have been dealt some tough injury news.Big man Mouhamed Gueye suffered a fractured left foot during a workout last week and will be sidelined for an extended stretch.He has already undergone surgery and is expected to be re-evaluated in three to four months.It’s important to remember that a re-evaluation timeline doesn’t necessarily reflect a return-to-play timeline. Even if Gueye is re-evaluated in three months and cleared, there will likely still be a period after that in which he has to get back in basketball shape.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThat means that whenever he is looked at — whether it’s in three months, four months or somewhere in between — fans should add on some additional time in their heads when it comes to a return to game-level action.As of this writing, three months in the future is Oct. 15, and four months down the line is Nov. 15. That means there is a good chance Gueye isn’t going to be ready to play when the season begins.That’s a blow for Atlanta, as the team trusted him to play 15.3 minutes per game last season across 77 appearances. While his production wasn’t huge — he averaged 4.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game — he provided some quality minutes in the frontcourt.Assuming he does miss time to start the season, the Hawks may need players like Zuby Ejiofor (an incoming rookie) and Asa Newell (a rising sophomore) to help pick up the slack. Some extra minutes could be valuable to those guys (and others) as they look to take advantage of the opportunities they get early in their NBA careers.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFor Gueye, the fracture is unfortunate, but if there’s ever a preferable time to suffer a long-term injury, it may be now. There is still a lot of offseason left which will give him some time to get healthy without having to miss games in the here and now. Once the season begins, he may have to watch from the sidelines for a little while, but he should be able to return to action in due time and contribute.When that does happen, hopefully there won’t be any lingering issues stemming from the injury. This offseason is going to look different for him than past ones, so his rhythm may be a little bit off when he does return, but the hope has to be that he’ll work out the kinks as he goes in what will be his fourth NBA season.