Duke basketball injury update: Could Caleb Foster return for Sweet 16 this week?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Coach Scheyer reports increasing chance Caleb Foster returns for Friday’s East semifinal.
- Foster missed ACC Tournament and first two NCAA games after foot surgery.
- Duke relies on Foster’s experience after Cayden Foster filled the starting guard role.
Could Duke have guard Caleb Foster back in the lineup this week in the NCAA Tournament?
Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer, in an interview with Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports that was posted Monday, sounded optimistic about Foster’s chances of getting back on the floor.
“When he first got hurt I thought there was like, one in a million,” Scheyer said in an Inside College Basketball Now podcast with Rothstein. “Since then, the chances have continued to increase. I even think there’s an outside chance, maybe for Friday. I know in Caleb’s mind it was last Friday. He’s trying to do the impossible here and come back as soon as he can.”
The Blue Devils, the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA field, and fifth-seeded St. John’s go at it Friday at 7:10 p.m. in the East Region semifinals at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The other semifinal matches Michigan State and Connecticut, with the regional final set Sunday.
Foster injured his right foot March 7 against North Carolina in the final regular-season game. He had surgery the next day for a foot fracture, then missed the ACC Tournament and first two games of the NCAA Tournament.
Foster and center Patrick Ngongba II have been using scooters to move about during the postseason and offering support during games and practices. Ngongba played Saturday in Duke’s 81-58 win over TCU in the NCAA second round in Greenville, South Carolina, after sitting out the UNC game, the ACC Tournament and the Blue Devils’ NCAA opener against Siena.
After Foster’s surgery, Scheyer said Foster was determined to return and play, but the Blue Devils might need to reach the Final Four to give him that chance. Freshman guard Cayden Boozer has filled in well in Foster’s absence, but Foster brings more experience and an added degree of toughness to the lineup.
Foster has averaged 8.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 31 games this season, shooting 40% from 3. He scored a season-high 20 points in a road win at Louisville in early January, and had 12 points, 4 boards and 4 assists in the win over Michigan that propelled Duke to No. 1 in the AP poll.
This story was originally published March 23, 2026 at 1:38 PM.
