Kon Knueppel‘s sophomore season continues to be plagued by injury.

The Charlotte Hornets sharpshooter has been diagnosed with a left hamstring strain and will be re-evaluated in four weeks, the team announced on Sunday.

It’ll mark Knueppel’s second absence early in the season season due to the lingering muscle issue. He missed Charlotte’s first eight games with the same left hamstring strain.

The 21-year-old made his much-anticipated season debut last Wednesday in a loss to the Brooklyn Nets, but lasted less than six minutes of action before leaving with the re-aggravated injury.

Knueppel entered Year 2 on the heels of a strong rookie season, when he played 81 games and averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists. The fourth-overall pick in 2025 led the NBA in made threes last season with 273 while shooting 42.5 per cent from beyond the arc. Of the seven players to attempt 600 or more triples, Knueppel led all of them in conversion rate.

The second-year swingman was supposed to headline a changing of the guard in Charlotte alongside Brandon Miller after LaMelo Ball was traded away in the off-season, but injuries haven’t allowed that to happen.