It was news that the Duke basketball program was expecting, but it became official on Thursday when head coach Jon Scheyer announced that Caleb Foster would be out for the entire NCAA Tournament.
Foster has not played since the second half of Duke's loss against Wake Forest on February 24. He missed the final four regular season games as well as the ACC Tournament quaterfinal matchup against North Carolina State.
Scheyer said on Thursday that the injury is a stress fracture in his ankle.
"My heart breaks for Caleb , because Caleb has done literally everything you could ask from a guy who has an injury and trying to get back out there," the Duke head coach told the media in Brooklyn.
The Duke head coach called the injury "unique" and said the team got multiple opinions from doctors how the best way to treat t
Coach Scheyer announced @iamcalebfoster is out for season with a stress fracture (ankle). Thoughts with our guy Caleb.
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 21, 2024
"He tried to practice earlier this week. He wasn't able to really be himself," he continued.
Caleb Foster ends his freshman season playing in 27 games, starting 15, and averaging 7.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 43.7-percent from the floor and 40.6-percent from 3-point range.
His near perfect performance against Michigan State -- scoring 18 points and only missing one shot -- showed the potential he had after being snubbed from various high school all-star games last spring.
Now, Duke becomes very thin in the backcourt and will rely on its trio of Jeremy Roach, Tyrese Proctor, and Jared McCain to play nearly every minute in the NCAA Tournament.
Roach, in particular, has really struggled over Duke's last two games.
"Everybody else needs to step up and we have to get Caleb healthy and taken care of," Scheyer added.
"There's no replacing Caleb. He's got a big heart. He's a tough competitor and he's just somebody that makes everybody better on the floor."
Duke will try to avoid ending the season on a 3-game losing streak on Friday night (7:10 p.m. ET., CBS) against No. 13 seed Vermont inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.