Photo Cred: Lance King / Getty Images
Looks like Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski will be stepping away from the team for a while; he will undergo back surgery Friday, the school announced Monday.
Krzyzewski is expected to coach Wednesday against Georgia Tech and then step away for the surgery to remove a fragment of a herniated disk in his lower back. The procedure has an anticipated recovery time of four weeks.
Assistant coach Jeff Capel will coach the team while Krzyzewski recovers. Capel’s first game will be Saturday against Boston College.
“Dr. William Richardson, Dr. [Allan] Friedman, and our medical team have worked tirelessly to help manage this issue for several weeks,” Krzyzewski said in a statement. “Together, we have determined that surgery is the best course of action at this time. During my recovery process, the team will be in the capable hands of Coach Capel, Coach [Nate] James and Coach [Jon] Scheyer. As soon as the doctors clear me to do so, I look forward to returning and giving our team 100{52c2b9fb7f6aa0736ded2304e74d79e31e70c85fb70a6b545c464e9a6c8f3457} of my energy and attention, which is certainly something that they deserve.”
Coach K, 69, had four surgeries during the offseason to replace his left knee, repair his left ankle and fix a hernia.
We hope he makes a fast recovery!