Duke's A.J. Griffin suffers dislocated knee, expected to miss 4-6 weeks

Duke will likely be without one of its star freshmen when it takes the floor against Kentucky to open the season. Five-star forward A.J. Griffin has reportedly suffered a dislocated knee during practice, an injury that is expected to keep him out 4-6 weeks.

Adam Rowe of The Devils Den broke the news of the injury, while Brendan Marks of The Athletic confirmed the recovery timeline.

According to Rowe, head coach Mike Krzyzewski announced to attendees at the Duke Children’s Hospital practice Thursday that Griffin’s injury was “just a sprain” and no surgery was required.

Marks added that the standout freshman “suffered no ligament damage.”

Griffin is a five-star small forward out of White Plains, N.Y., who originally chose the Blue Devils over Kentucky, Kansas and Villanova, among others. He was ranked as the No. 9 overall player and top recruit at his position in the ESPN 100 rankings in the class of 2021.

He was sidelined the majority of his senior campaign with a left knee injury.

Griffin was one of four freshmen to sign with the Blue Devils in 2021, joining Paolo Banchero, Trevor Keels and Jaylen Brakes. Duke also added two transfers in Bates Jones (Davidson) and Theo John (Marquette).

Kentucky is set to take on Duke in the State Farm Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 9.