Duke basketball: What’s the deal with injured Blue Devils?

Duke basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski has now updated the injury list.

In a brief clip on Monday from the Duke basketball program’s official Twitter account, Mike Krzyzewski gave fans the type of news that they dread to hear but have nonetheless pretty much come to expect this time of year as the 73-year-old Hall of Famer enters his 41st campaign at the helm in Durham.

ALSO READ: Ranking all 40 Duke teams under Coach K

With only days remaining until the 2020-21 Blue Devils tip off their season at home against Gardner-Webb on Nov. 25, Krzyzewski noted injuries to two important forwards on the roster in sophomore stretch-four Matthew Hurt and freshman muscleman Henry Coleman:

“[Hurt] had a little leg injury [in the first intrasquad scrimmage on Nov. 6]. If we had games last week, he would have played. But we’ve kept him out just to make sure we get him 100 percent — so you don’t go into a season with some little nagging injuries.”

Krzyzewski continued by providing a tad foggier insight into the status of Coleman:

“And then [Coleman] tweaked his ankle a little bit in the scrimmage on Friday night [Nov. 13], so we kept him out today. Hopefully, he’ll be back.”

That last comment regarding Coleman didn’t exactly sound 100 percent promising at the time.

Now, it seems both players are a go for the final Duke basketball scrimmage

Judging from Coach K’s comments on Thursday to ACC media members, as Shawn Krest of SI reported, there are now no lingering injury issues for either Coleman or Hurt as the squad prepares for a Friday night “dress rehearsal” intrasquad battle in Cameron Indoor Stadium (be on the lookout for highlights from that on Duke’s YouTube channel):

“We had a couple of minor injuries. [Hurt] just had a minor leg injury. He would’ve been able to play after a couple of days, but we decided to keep him out for a week. And we’re healthy now.”

Knock on wood.

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