Duke announced Wednesday that freshman Kyrie Irving of West Orange, N.J. is out indefinitely after suffering a toe injury on his right foot in last Saturday’s win over Butler. No timetable has been set for his return as Irving will undergo rest and rehabilitation while recovering from the injury.
“Kyrie is going to miss an undetermined amount of time with the toe injury,” said head coach Mike Krzyzewski, whose team hosts Bradley Wednesday night on ESPN2. “Our medical staff will continue to monitor the recovery process and he will return to action once it has sufficiently healed. Kyrie is an outstanding player and we are confident that he will bounce back from this setback.”
Irving is off to a terrific start in his freshman season at Duke reaching double-figures in scoring in all eight games. The three-time ACC Rookie of the Week selection is the third leading freshman scorer in the country at 17.4 points per game and also ranks in the top 10 of the ACC in six statistical categories (scoring, assists, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, steals and assist-to-turnover ratio).
Irving was named ACC Rookie of the Week on Dec. 6 after averaging 26.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game in wins over No. 6 Michigan State and Butler.
The former St. Patrick star opened the week with a 31-point, six-rebound, four-assist effort in an 84-79 win over Michigan State. Irving was 8-of-12 from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point range, and 13-of-16 from the foul line in the contest. His 31-points against the Spartans is tied for the second-most by a Duke freshman, while the 13 made free throws is a new Duke freshman record.
Irving added 21 points, two rebounds and two assists in Saturday’s win over Butler in a rematch of the 2010 National Championship game. He finished 6-of-10 from the field, 3-of-6 from three-point range and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Irving scored 17 second half points as Duke broke open a 33-33 tie to post its sixth double-figure win of the season. Irving scored Duke’s first seven points of the second half and added eight straight points for the Blue Devils around the eight-minute mark to help hold off a Butler charge. Irving was 4-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-4 from three-point distance, over the final 20-minutes of play.
(Photo, story courtesy GoDuke.com)
