Duke basketball: Dariq Whitehead to return from injury against Delaware

Duke basketball wing Dariq Whitehead is making his return from a foot injury. 

The Duke basketball team is finally whole.

Dariq Whitehead will return from a foot injury on Friday night when the No. 7 Blue Devils (2-1) host Delaware (1-1).

Duke confirmed the news this afternoon.

Whitehead suffered a broken foot in late August that required surgery and head coach Jon Scheyer has been impressed with his recovery, but said following a loss against Kansas on Tuesday night that his star freshman would “probably not” be ready for Friday’s game.

All signs pointed to Monday night’s matchup against Bellarmine (2-1) as the debut for the Newark, New Jersey native, but Friday night’s game against Delaware has become much more interesting.

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Whitehead, a superstar at Montverde Academy (Fla.), was ranked as a five-star recruit and No. 3 player in the Class of 2023, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, as well as the No. 1 small forward in his class and the top player to come out of the state of New Jersey.

Duke basketball will ease star wing back into competition

It’s likely that Dariq Whitehead will come off the bench against the Blue Hens as the coaching staff will limit his minutes as he works back into game shape, similar to what has happened with freshman center Dereck Lively.

Lively missed the first game of the season against Jacksonville as he returned from a calf injury suffered in the preseason last Friday against USC Upstate and has come off the bench in each of the first two games he has played.

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Duke will look to gather some type of momentum in its final two games before heading to Portland, Oregon for the loaded Phil Knight Legacy Tournament that begins on Thursday afternoon against Oregon State.

Tipoff between Duke and Delaware is scheduled for 7:00p.m. ET (RSN) inside Cameron Indoor Stadium.