Duke freshman Caleb Foster will miss the NCAA Tournament with a right ankle injury

NEW YORK (AP) — Duke guard Caleb Foster will miss the NCAA Tournament with a right ankle injury, coach Jon Scheyer said Thursday.

The fourth-seeded Blue Devils (24-8) face 13 seed Vermont on Friday night in the South Region at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Foster has missed the last five games, but Duke was hoping he might be able to return for the postseason.

“My heart breaks for Caleb because Caleb has done literally everything you could ask from a guy who has an injury and trying to get back out there,” Scheyer said.

Foster, a 6-foot-5 freshman, started 15 games this season and averaged 7.7 points while shooting 40.7% from 3-point range.

Scheyer said Foster has seen multiple doctors and tried to practice this week.

“He wasn’t able to really be himself,” Scheyer said. “And so he’s going to be out. He has a stress fracture in his ankle, and it’s a unique injury. And so we’ll be missing him.”

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Russo has been the national college football writer for The Associated Press for two decades. He is a native New Yorker.