Duke basketball: Dariq Whitehead to undergo another surgery

Duke basketball freshman wing Dariq Whitehead has to undergo another surgery. 

It has not been the best year for Duke basketball wing Dariq Whitehead.

The 5-star recruit constantly dealt with injuries from the moment he stepped on campus with a broken right foot suffered in August, which required surgery.

Whitehead would miss the entire preseason as he recovered from the fifth metatarsal bone fracture but would only miss the first three games of the regular season and found himself growing more comfortable as the season progressed.

However, the Newark, New Jersey native would go down with a scary left leg injury in a road matchup against Virginia Tech on January 23.

The injury looked very similar to a typical rupture of the achilles tendon but thankfully Whitehead was only diagnosed with a lower leg strain but still missed four games.

ALSO READ: Duke eyeing huge target in transfer portal

It would have been easy for the freshman wing to shutdown for the rest of the season and prepare for his next chapter in the NBA but Dariq Whitehead continued to preserve through his injuries to play for the Blue Devils.

Now, it has become public that his original injury of the broken fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot did not heal properly following his surgery, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports.

Whitehead, according to the report, will have to undergo another surgery but it is expected that he will be ready to return by the start of the NBA season in the fall and will still attend the NBA Draft Combine next week in Chicago.

Duke basketball freshman draft projection in limbo

Dariq Whitehead averaged 8.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game while shooting 42.1-percent from the field and 42.9-percent from 3-point range.

ALSO READ: Duke eyeing huge target in transfer portal

Draft experts project the Duke freshman to be anywhere between a late first round to second round selection.

Dereck Lively II also has declared for the 2023 NBA Draft while Jeremy Roach is testing the draft waters while maintaining his college eligibility.