The Duke Blue Devils are ready for the start of the 2026-27 college basketball season as practice has already begun. For Duke, this is another season with high expectations, the norm in Durham. 

As Duke gets ready for the new season under Jon Scheyer, the head coach and a few players participated in the ACC Tip-Off event this week in Charlotte. This gives the media the chance to ask questions about the team for the first time outside of practice availability. This event can be useful for a number of reasons. 

One of the storylines for the Blue Devils out of Wednesday's media session was a new injury to a key guard.

Scheyer told the media that guard Caleb Foster is dealing with an ankle injury. Foster won't play this week against Belmont as Duke opens up their preseason exhibition schedule. But there is good news. 

The belief is that Foster will be ready to go for the season opener on November 2nd when they host Army in Cameron Indoor Stadium. That's the good news. 

For Foster, the injury is a little setback this offseason after he decided to return for another year at Duke. Last season, he suffered a foot injury after Duke's big win at home against North Carolina. He later had surgery which required him to miss time. 

He did return in the Sweet 16 game against St. John's and made an immediate impact not only in that game but against UConn, mainly on the defensive end. Last season, Foster averaged 8.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 44.7 percent from the field. 

Foster isn't the only Duke player dealing with an injury. Transfer big man Drew Scharnowski is dealing with a knee injury and has been out of practice for the past couple of weeks. 

Scheyer mentioned how Duke has been having very competitive practices but that's no the reason why either player is hurt. Instead, they are being considered as 'minor' things by Scheyer.

Like Foster, Scharnowski is also targeting that season opener against Army for a return. He will miss the exhibition game against his former team on Friday. 

Scharnowski is expected to come off the bench for Duke this season but will be a key piece for them in the front court, especially for depth this upcoming season.