Duke Blue Devils

Injuries Continue Piling Up for Duke Football

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Redshirt senior running back Jela Duncan suffered a torn Achilles against Georgia Tech that will end his season and his Duke football career.

Duke Football recently announced that the team’s leading rusher Jela Duncan will miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn Achilles against Georgia Tech over the weekend. Duncan is the third team captain to be ruled out for the season joining quarterback Thomas Sirk and safety DeVon Edwards.

The loss of redshirt senior running back Jela Duncan will be a huge blow to the offense. Duncan was the starter and leading rusher for the team accumulating 450 rushing yards and six touchdowns so far this season. He has struggled with injuries throughout his career missing the loss to Virginia earlier this season and redshirted in 2014 after multiple shoulder surgeries. Despite the injuries, Duncan will still finish his career as one of the top running backs in Duke history as one of six players to compile 2,000+ rushing yards.

Duke Football will be forced to adjust quickly a ranked Virginia Tech team coming this weekend. The Blue Devils will most likely turn to junior Shaun Wilson to start along with Joseph Ajeigbe to fill the void in the running game. Head coach David Cutcliffe had this to say about Duncan’s injury and the impact he had on Duke Football:

“His passion, toughness and level of commitment have been exemplary, and everyone in our program has benefited from his presence.”

Duncan underwent surgery Monday at the Duke Sports Science Institute to repair his Achilles tendon. We hope Jela Duncan has a speedy recovery and wish him the best of luck with his Duke degree.