Redshirt junior guard Adam Highberger will miss three to four weeks after breaking a bone in his shooting hand during Friday's practice.

Highberger suffered the injury during a scrimmage when he drove into the lane and jammed his right ring finger against a group of defenders. He said he was unsure who he ran into to cause the injury.

The bone break marks the third time in the last three seasons Highberger has suffered a major injury.

"It's frustrating," Highberger said. "It seems like I just can't catch a break. But at the same time, a lot of worse things that could have happened to me."

During the season's first six games, in which the Lions are 4-2, Highberger averaged 4.7 points in just less than 10 minutes per contest.

Although Highberger, who was a medical redshirt after he tore his left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in 2007, has played in just three games this season, fellow guard Chris Babb said Highberger's injury extends beyond the loss of his statistics.

"Even though he's not a big-minute guy, he's still a huge asset to us on and off the court," Babb said. "In practice, he keeps everybody going. He's got a high motor, his head's always in the game, he's always focused, and that's a big loss for us right now."

After spending the 2007-08 season rehabbing, Highberger played in four games last year before tearing his right ACL in December.

Head coach Ed DeChellis, who said the Lions will have to work to make up for the energy Highberger brings to the court, set a potential return date of around Christmas.

"Adam just can't get any luck," DeChellis said. "After fighting back from two knee injuries, and now this thing -- it's really disappointing for him."

DeChellis has used Highberger as a shooting threat off the bench -- he is shooting 57 percent from beyond the arc -- and as a defensive stopper.

Highberger had been running the second-team offense in practice, and DeChellis said the injury will force him to reconstruct his practice teams. One of the biggest blows relating to the injury, DeChellis said, is the lack of a second-team point guard because DeChellis has been using freshman Tim Frazier with the first.

But despite the injury problems, Highberger said because the bone break occurred so early in the Lions' season, it would only be a minor setback.