Senior forward Lance Thomas's right knee injury appears to be only a severe bone bruise, the Duke men's basketball program said in a statement minutes ago.
Thomas left last night's game against North Carolina early in the second half after banging knees with Tar Heel guard Larry Drew II, and while Drew looked to be in some pain, Thomas collapsed to the ground as trainers rushed across the court. Thomas left the game and did not return.
The statement said Thomas is doubtful for the Blue Devils' next contest with Maryland this weekend, but the fact that the injury doesn't involve any knee ligaments is certainly good news for Duke.
There's been no timetable set for the senior's return, but for comparison's sake, former Villanova guard Dwayne Anderson suffered a similar injury last year--actually, on Feb. 10, the exact same day as Thomas--and played 19 minutes in his team's next game, three days later.
I'm no doctor and have no idea about the relative severity of Thomas's injury, but The Chronicle will continue to monitor his situation as Duke enters the home-stretch of the conference season.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.