Five-Star Duke Basketball Freshman Has Knee Surgery, Out Six Weeks

Freshman Harry Giles recently underwent surgery on his knee and is expected to be out for six weeks missing the beginning of the Duke Basketball season.

The Blue Devils will be without one of their highly touted freshmen to start the season, after Duke Basketball announced that forward Harry Giles required knee surgery and will be out for six weeks.

This will be the third knee surgery for Harry Giles in three years after tearing both of his ACLs in high school. He spent the summer at Duke training and rehabbing from an ACL tear that caused him to miss his senior year of high school last season before joining the Blue Devils. The surgery is an arthroscopy and expected to be minimal, and head coach Mike Krzyzewski says there’s nothing for Duke fans to worry about:

“We’re very pleased with the outcome of today’s procedure. This is the right step for Harry at the moment as it will help him be 100 percent going forward. Harry has done a tremendous job in rehabilitation over the last year and I’m sure he’ll continue to do the same after this procedure.”

Despite multiple knee injuries, Giles was still ranked as one of the top players in the incoming freshman class. He’s a versatile 6-10 forward with an extremely high ceiling, and he’s considered to be a potential No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft next year. Duke has depth in the frontcourt this year, and will most likely rely on Amile Jefferson, Marques Bolden, Chase Jeter, and others to step up until Giles returns and is ready to contribute.

If Giles recovery goes as expected, then his first game back will be in the Champions Class on Nov. 15th in Madison Square Garden against Kansas. Coach K will most likely try to ease him back into the lineup coming off of surgery, but we hope the Duke freshman heals quickly and we hope to see him at 100% this season.