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It’ll be a ‘long time’ before Irving returns for Duke

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Mike Krzyzewski says it’ll be a “long time” before Kyrie Irving’s returns to Duke’s lineup.

It’s an ominous statement for Blue Devils fans, but nebulous for the rest of us. What does “a long time” mean, exactly? Weeks? Months? The rest of the season? My guess would be by Jan. 12, just in time for a trip to Florida State. (And if you can take anything from Irving’s tweets, he sounds more and more optimistic every day.)

Coach K refused to elaborate any further when he appeared on his HM Radio show Wednesday, mostly because a number of specialists are still meeting and planning Irving’s rehabilitation and recovery, according to the Raleigh News & Observer.

So we’ll wait. No. 1 Duke (10-0) will continue to play without the freshman point guard, who was averaging 17.4 points a game before injuring the big toe on his right foot.

And despite any concerns about winning back-to-back NCAA tournament titles, the Devils insist they won’t rush Irving back into action.

“He’s 18 years old,” assistant coach Chris Collins told the paper. “He’s going to play basketball for a long, long time. We have to think about his health and what’s going to be best for him in the long term.”

Want more? I’m also on Twitter @BeyndArcMMiller.