Duke Freshman Marshall Plumlee Reportedly Sidelined 6-8 Weeks with Foot Injury

Duke freshman forward Marshall Plumlee has been sidelined by a foot injury and could miss two months, based on a report from the Duke Chronicle.

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Marshall Plumlee's injury: stress fracture of left metatarsal. Occurred a few days ago in workouts and he's expected to miss 6-8 weeks.

— Duke Basketball (@dukebasketball) October 15, 2012"

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A highly-regarded recruit, Plumlee decided to follow in the footsteps of his two brothers, Miles and Mason, by joining the Blue Devils. He was preparing to see his first collegiate action after sitting out last season as a redshirt.

That plan is obviously now on hold.

Since the injury happened just a couple days ago, the earliest he could return based on the given timetable would be in early December. A mid-month return is more likely if Duke decides to play it safe with the young big man.

Plumlee is built in the same mold as his brothers, a forward with the ability to run the floor, defend and rebound. His offensive game is still a work in progress, but the redshirt year should have helped him become more polished on that end of the court.

He was going to serve as a key piece of the Duke post rotation. The group also includes his brother Mason (Miles moved on to the NBA) and fellow senior Ryan Kelly, along with Amile Jefferson, a top recruit from the 2012 class.

His injury will leave Duke a little short-handed along the frontline for the first half of the season. The good news is that he should be able to get back in time to gain some game experience before ACC play is fully underway (if everything goes according to plan).

It's not the type of news Mike Krzyzewski wanted to hear with preseason preparations recently starting in full force, but Duke should have enough depth to overcome the loss of Plumlee in the short term.

Although the Blue Devils will surely need him for the annual ACC grind.