A significant piece of Duke offensive puzzle won’t be available to the Blue Devils in Week 5.
On its weekly injury report released Thursday, Duke announced that Jela Duncan will not play against Virginia Saturday because of an unspecified leg injury. The running back sustained the injury in the 38-35 win over Notre Dame last weekend.
With 314 yards, Duncan is far and away the Blue Devils’ leading rusher. Next closest is Shaun Wilson‘s 122 yards.
Duncan, a senior who’s endured a rocky career thus far, also leads the team with four rushing touchdowns, while his 5.6 yards per carry is tops amongst Blue Devils with 10 or more carries.
The football program also confirmed that defensive end Dominic McDonald will miss a second straight game because of what’s described as an upper-body injury. McDonald started the first three games of the season before missing the Notre Dame game with the same injury.
And, finally, the school announced that linebacker Tinashe Bere will be sidelined for the remainder of the season with a leg injury. While he didn’t start any of the four games in which he played this season after starting six last year, he’s sixth on the team in tackles with 13.