June Mar Fajardo will be out for five to six weeks owing to a media collateral ligament injury, forcing San Miguel Beer to dig deep into its pocket to remedy the big man’s temporary absence in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup.

“He’ll be out five to six weeks, according to the doctor, although the good news is, there’s no surgery required, so there’s a chance for him to be back this season,” said team manager Gee Abanilla on Sunday.

Fajardo was injured during San Miguel’s campaign in the recent East Asia Super League against the Ryukyu Golden Kings.

With Fajardo out for a while, the Beermen will need to give more playing time to Mo Tautuaa, the team’s back-up center, veteran forward Vic Manuel and of course, import Cameron Clark, who will be tasked to do more playing inside the shaded lane.

Abanilla clarified that despite Fajardo’s injury, they have no plans of replacing Clark with an import who plays more on the interior.

“We like Cameron Clark’s game,” he added. “He’s a player who can play multiple positions and his teammates respect his game. We’re going to stick with him in the playoffs.”

Clark was brought in a few days before the start of the tournament to replace Marcus Weathers, the Beermen’s original import choice, who eventually ended up to play for NorthPort.

With Clark on board, San Miguel has won seven of nine games in the elimination round and bolstered its bid for an outright twice-to-beat in the playoffs.