A couple of weeks after coach Steve Forbes was lauding the offseason work of Jao Ituka, Wake Forest announced the guard will miss 4-6 months after undergoing surgery this week.

"We are heartbroken for Jao. He worked so hard to rehabilitate his injured right knee that ended his season a year ago,” Forbes said through a news release. “All his hard work and perseverance put him in position for playing time this upcoming season.

“Jao is a resilient young man and I know he will overcome this latest setback.”

Ituka’s injury is a lateral meniscus injury to his left knee and was, as Forbes alluded, not the same knee that was injured last season.

The third-year guard was a captain for Wake Forest last season. Forbes praised his work over the summer to become more muscular and trim.

Ituka initially suffered the injury last season in the team’s closed-door scrimmage against Ohio State. He missed the first five games and scored 10 points in his debut as a Deacon, having transferred from Marist.

But he struggled in the other five games he played, and the last game he played in was the 81-57 loss at Rutgers.