CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina freshman point guard Cole Anthony is expected to miss the next 4-to-6 weeks after undergoing an arthroscopic procedure to treat a partially torn meniscus in his right knee on Monday, the school announced on Tuesday.

"Obviously not having a player of Cole's caliber will be a tremendous challenge to our young team, but we have to play," UNC head coach Roy Williams said in a release. "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."

UNC had previously announced that Anthony was out indefinitely due to a right knee injury prior to its game against Wofford at Carmichael Arena on Sunday.

Cole Anthony watches UNC vs. Wofford

Anthony is the Tar Heels’ leading scorer and the second-leading scorer among freshmen in the nation at 19.1 points per game. He’s shooting 36.8 percent from the floor and 35.5 percent from three-point range through nine games. Anthony is also the team’s third-leading rebounder (6.3) and has dished out 32 assists while committing 34 turnovers.

"His toughness is something that I’ve really appreciated since the first time I watched him play as a high school freshman," Williams said after Anthony scored 34 points in UNC's season-opening win over Notre Dame. "I think he’s one of the toughest … between those lines, during conditioning, during the simplest little things, that is one tough little nut. I used to call a couple other players that who were pretty doggone good."

Without Anthony on the court, UNC lost to Wofford, 68-64, in dropping its third straight game and its fourth in five games. Junior walk-on K.J. Smith and freshman Jeremiah Francis split time at point guard against the Terriers, combining for seven points on 2-of-10 shooting with seven assists and three turnovers. The Tar Heels play at No. 2 Gonzaga on Wednesday night.

Injuries have headlined the start of UNC’s 2019-20 season as Anthony represents the seventh Tar Heel to miss game time due to injury. That list also includes senior wing Brandon Robinson (ankle), junior center Sterling Manley (knee), sophomore wing Leaky Black (foot), freshman forward Armando Bacot (ankle), and freshmen guard Anthony Harris (knee) and Francis (knee).

Anthony was already dealing with a right ankle injury suffered at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas over the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Tar Heels (6-4, 1-1 ACC) will need to grind out some wins in Anthony's absence. UNC was ranked 95th in the NCAA's initial NET rankings released this week. If the freshman guard returns in four weeks, he would miss UNC's next six games, which includes three ACC home games against Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and Clemson. A six-week recovery time would result in nine missed games with a potential return at N.C. State on Jan. 27.