Jeremy Roach is one of the toughest Duke basketball players but he could be sidelined again with injury.
Roach landed on the foot on Louisville guard Mike James with 5:25 remaining in the first half of the Blue Devils' 83-69 victory over Louisville on Tuesday night and exited, after making both free throws, to get retapped.
It was clear once the senior guard returned that he was not moving well on the floor and every movement was a struggle to make. He only missed 3:15 of action during the first half but failed to score following his return.
Roach started the second half but only lasted 1:11 on the floor as his movements got worse and ankle stiffened during halftime.
He had an ice wrap around the injury as he sat on the bench and watched the remainder of the second half with 10 points and three assists.
Jon Scheyer was not asked for an update on his starting guard's status in his post game press conference but there was a small peak into how Jeremy Roach was doing after the game on social media.
Freshman guard Jared McCain posted on TikTok as he was boarding the Duke plane to return to Durham and caught Roach making his way to the aircraft on crutches.
Jeremy Roach is on crutches but not in a walking boot as Duke boards it’s plane back to Durham tonight
— Ball Durham (@Ball_Durham) January 24, 2024
🎥: Jared McCain’s TikTok pic.twitter.com/hHBCg5p8fw
One positive is that there was no walking boot on his right foot.
Roach had just made his return to the lineup after missing Saturday's loss against Pittsburgh with a knee injury that he suffered against Georgia Tech seven days prior. The Duke captain tried to return against the Yellow Jackets but had to leave the game after just 57 seconds on the floor.
No. 12 Duke (14-4, 5-2 ACC) plays Clemson (13-5, 3-4 ACC) on Saturday afternoon (4:00 p.m. ET, ESPN) inside Cameron Indoor Stadium before a tough 2-game road trip begins on Monday against Virginia Tech (12-7, 4-4 ACC) followed by No. 3 North Carolina (16-3, 8-0 ACC) next Saturday night.