Cubs starting pitcher José Quintana will miss at least two weeks after suffering a cut on the thumb of his left (pitching) hand.

Quintana was washing dishes at his home in Miami last week and cut his thumb, requiring five stitches. He saw a hand specialist in Miami and then followed up with the Cubs team doctors. Thursday morning in Chicago, he underwent microscopic surgery to repair a lacerated digital sensory nerve.

He will be sidelined for approximately two weeks before resuming his throwing program. The Cubs will evaluate his status at that time and determine a plan for return.

“There’s some uncertainty right now surrounding his timetable,” Theo Epstein said. “We’ll just have to wait and see. He’ll be able to throw in approximately two weeks. And then from there, it’ll really depend on how he feels and how the thumb feels.

“There’s a best case scenario in which it heals quickly and his thumb feels good and he can resume a pretty rapid ramp-up from that point. He’s been built up and he’s pretty far along. But there’s certainly another scenario in which the nerve takes longer to heal and he’s going to be significantly delayed. We really can’t forecast. We just have to wait and see and hope for the best when he’s able to start throwing in a couple weeks.”

The Cubs picked up Quintana’s option in the offseason and he was expected to play a big role in the starting rotation in 2020. The 31-year-old left-hander is set to become a free agent after the season and is 33-23 with a 4.23 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in two-and-a-half seasons on the North Side.

Quintana showed up to spring training in Arizona as a man on a mission, determined to prove to the Cubs and their fanbase that trading for him in the summer of 2017 was worth it.

“I want to show everybody the reason why I’m here and I want to help this team,” Quintana said back in February. “I want to play the game like I’ve been doing through my career and that’s what I want to do every five days I go to the mound. I’m happy to be back and I want everybody to be happy they traded me here.”

In Quintana’s stead, the Cubs have other options to fill in. Yu Darvish, Kyle Hendricks and Jon Lester are set to headline the starting staff and it looked like Tyler Chatwood was in line for a rotation spot in Arizona this spring.

Alec Mills, Colin Rea, Adbert Alzolay and Jharel Cotton represent more depth for the rotation.