Well this is not ideal: Jason Evans, who does great work with the DBR Podcast, reported on X.com that rising sophomore Patrick Ngongba is wearing a boot during summer workouts.
Ngongba has a history of foot injuries, missing his senior season with a right foot injury and then injuring his left foot last fall.
However, while we thought there was a chance that he might redshirt with Khaman Maluach and Maliq Brown ahead of him in the rotation, after Brown was injured the first time , Ngongba emerged as a very crafty big man with a totally unexpected passing ability that could make you rub your eyes in disbelief.
While we don’t know what happened yet, keep it in perspective: it’s late June, it’s a boot not a cast and he has plenty of time to work through it.
Plus, as we like to mention from time to time, one of the semi-secret (or at least not widely mentioned) advantages Duke has over many teams is absolutely superb medical care. A lot of people won’t remember it, but Kyrie Irving’s injury at Duke was potentially career-threatening. He got superb treatment and is still playing. Elton Brand returned from his foot injury in record time.
We could go on, but you get the point: Duke athletes have one of the greatest perks any athlete could have.