The Dallas Cowboys will be without star quarterback Dak Prescott for an extended period of time after he suffered a serious injury. hamstring injury during the team’s Week 9 loss against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Cowboys have not yet placed Prescott on injured reserve as he seeks additional comment on his injury, but team executive vice president Stephen Jones indicated Thursday that an IR assignment is the most likely outcome.

To talk San Antonio’s Sports Star On Thursday’s radio show, Jones, owner Jerry Jones’ son, offered an update on Prescott’s ailing hamstring.

“He’ll probably be injured by the end of the week. We’re just making sure we’re checking all the options,” Jones said.

When asked about the possibility of Prescott requiring surgery, he added, “At some point (the injury) may require surgery. No one is recommending that right now.”

Jones noted that Prescott will almost certainly need four weeks, possibly even longer, to be ready to return. If surgery is required, it will definitely take longer than four weeks. Therefore, IR duty for Prescott seems like a foregone conclusion.

This season the Cowboys are limping off to a 3-5 start, and things look set to get worse with Prescott on the field. The 31-year-old has scored 11 goals and made 9 interceptions this year, while completing 64.7% of his passes. This summer, he signed a record-breaking four-year, $240 million contract.

If placed on IR, the earliest Prescott could return would be Week 14 when Dallas faces the Cincinnati Bengals on December 9 at AT&T Stadium.