UPDATE: A Charlotte Hornets public relations official told CBS Sports that Queen City Hoops’ report was inaccurate and Frank Kaminsky did not have an MRI on Monday. Queen City Hoops also tweeted an apology, reporting that Kaminsky could in fact be back in the lineup as early as this coming weekend. This is obviously fantastic news for the Hornets, who need the big man to be available as they try to get back in the playoff picture.

Original story: Hornets big man Frank Kaminsky will “likely” miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury, according to Queen City Hoops’ Spencer Percy. Kaminsky suffered an AC joint strain in his left shoulder Thursday in the fourth quarter of the Hornets’ 120-103 loss to the Phoenix Suns

From Queen City Hoops:

An MRI was performed today in Charlotte, and although it is unknown whether or not Kaminsky will need surgery to repair any significant damage in his left shoulder, it is expected for the team to eventually announce that he will be shut down for the rest of the ’16-’17 season.

If Kaminsky indeed misses the rest of the season, this is more significant than you might think. He has played the best basketball of his young career lately, averaging 18.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 38.6 percent from 3-point range in February. The Hornets are 11th in the Eastern Conference and three games back of the eighth-place Detroit Pistons, so they need to go on a run in the next six weeks. That will be a tall task without Kaminsky, who had supplanted Cody Zeller in the starting lineup and improved their spacing.

Zeller can man the middle in Kaminsky’s absence, but Charlotte’s bench will be awfully thin in the frontcourt. Miles Plumlee is out with a calf strain, so the team will need Christian Wood and Johnny O’Bryant, who is on his second 10-day contract, to be in the rotation.