It was the last thing that any Blue Devil fan in jam-packed Cameron Indoor Stadium wanted to see Wednesday night.
After driving baseline with 40 seconds remaining in the first half, DeMarcus Nelson was called for a charge-and then he was slow to get up.
The sophomore limped to the bench for the final seconds of the half and then walked to the locker room for halftime, but he was visibly grimacing in pain.
Fortunately, however, Cameron Crazies who feared that Nelson had re-injured his broken right foot-an injury that forced him to miss nine games-can breathe a sigh of relief.
Nelson suffered a bone bruise on his right ankle during the game and is unlikely to play in Saturday's road game against Clemson. But the injury is not expected to sideline him for a prolonged period of time, although no definitive timetable has been set for his return.
Nelson first returned to the lineup against Wake Forest Jan. 8 and played 11 minutes in what head coach Mike Krzyzewski described as an emergency situation.
It was clear from the start of Wednesday's game against Maryland, however, that Nelson had been re-incorporated into the regular rotation when he and Lee Melchionni were the first Duke substitutes off the bench.
In his 10 minutes on the court, Nelson scored six points and recorded four steals. He showed no signs of his previous injury and even attempted a high-flying dunk, but he missed it.
"DeMarcus had a heck of a first half for us," Krzyzewski said after the game.
Nelson averaged 6.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and nearly a steal per game as a freshman and was expected to be Duke's third-scoring option this season behind seniors J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams. Krzyzewski has also called Nelson the team's best athlete and one of the Blue Devils best defenders.
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