It was supposed to be an influential summer in the development of Dallas Mavericks second-year guard Rodrigue Beaubois. Instead, the budding star has an uphill climb, after injuring his left foot while training with the French national team for the FIBA World Championship.

As first reported by L'Equipe, a French newspaper, Beaubois suffered a non-displaced fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot while training on Friday.

"It's terrible for Rodrigue, who will now have to get better and we wish him a speedy rehabilitation," French coach Vincent Collet said. "It is a blow to our team, because in two weeks of training, he had contributed enormously in the game by his speed and skill."

Before the injury, Beaubois and the Mavericks' front office had hoped that the youngster could refine his point guard skills with an offseason filled with basketball in the summer league and international play.

"This summer will be very important for me," Beaubois said at the end of the 2009-10 season. "I really need to work on my game and my body, everything, and just come into training camp ready to go."

"Going forward, we need (Beaubois) to enhance his knowledge of the point guard position -- his ability to score and do dynamic things -- but to also get the other guys on the floor involved," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said were his hopes for the Guadeloupe native this summer. "He's going to be a guy that is going to be an important player for this franchise."

The team is flying Beaubois back in to Dallas to have him further evaluated. Not timetable is set for his return, though the Mavericks are hoping to have the 22-year-old fully rehabbed by the start of training camp in late-September.

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