New video of Caleb Foster injury has Duke fans holding their breath for ACC Tournament

UPDATE: Jon Scheyer just said in his postgame presser that he'd be 'shocked' if Foster is able to play in the ACC Tournament.

Duke has been mostly healthy the entire year, but the injury bug has bitten the Blue Devils at the worst possible time. The No. 1-ranked team in the country entered its regular-season finale against North Carolina with starting center Patrick Ngongba II as a game-time decision, and left the 76-61 victory with even more concerns. 

Ngongba wore a boot on his injured right foot Saturday night, and by the second half, starting point guard Caleb Foster had one to match. Foster injured his right foot in the first half and was sent back locker room before he was ruled out for the game. 

It was hard to tell exactly how Foster injured his foot or ankle on the play, but footage from Carolina Blitz at Cameron Indoor in the moments before Foster retreated to the locker room should have Duke fans holding their breath about his status for the ACC Tournament next week in Charlotte. 

Foster appeared to be in serious pain as the trainer removed his right shoe on the Duke bench late in the first half. While his official injury status is still unknown, it doesn’t look promising for the 6-foot-5 junior point guard who has been rock solid in his third year playing for Jon Scheyer. 

Caleb Foster was in visible pain on Duke’s sideline in the regular-season finale

Duke more than kept its head above water with Ngongba out for the game and Foster missing all but five minutes of it, beating the Tar Heels soundly. However, UNC has injury issues of its own with star freshman Caleb Wilson, who led the way with 23 points in last month’s meeting in Chapel Hill, out for the season with a broken thumb he suffered as he was attempting to return from his broken hand. 

While North Carolina is far from the same team without Wilson, it’s encouraging that the Blue Devils were able to control the game so soundly with a seven-man rotation. Cayden Boozer played major minutes at point guard in Foster’s absence, and Maliq Brown starred offensively with 15 points as he replaced Ngongba in the starting lineup. 

Duke entered the night with the regular-season ACC Title wrapped up, so Scheyer had the luxury of being overly cautious with both Ngongba and Foster. However, that logic feels far less comforting when watching the video of Foster as he was being tended to on the bench.

Duke is a good team without Foster, but the veteran point guard has grown into a stalwart for the Blue Devils. They may not be the best team in the country without him, and March is when that small distinction matters the most. To avenge last year’s Final Four loss, Foster has to be healthy enough to play, if not 100 percent. Even if, to avenge last month’s loss to UNC, he didn’t.