Fortunately for Blue Devil fans, the early signs on quarterback Riley Leonard's injury point to a relatively speedy recovery.
In the dying moments of Duke's loss to Notre Dame Saturday night, the junior signal caller was dragged down behind the line of scrimmage and had to be helped off the field on crutches, placing no weight on his right foot. According to a Sunday report by ESPN's Pete Thamel on X, the "early read" on Leonard's injury — a presumed high-ankle sprain — is that it will not be season-ending and that "multiple weeks" is a probable timeline for his recovery.
Prior to his injury, Leonard spearheaded a valiant Blue Devil fightback in the second half against the Fighting Irish, putting the team inches away from victory before a 17-yard scamper by Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman on fourth down crushed Duke's hopes. Leonard logged 134 yards in the air and a touchdown against the Fighting Irish.
Throughout five games this season, Leonard has emerged as one of the country's dual-threats under center, throwing for 912 yards and rushing for a further 326, registering seven total touchdowns.
A team representative confirmed that the injury is "not as bad as it appeared" and "is not season ending." His status, as of now, is "week-to-week," and the team will take the week to assess the injury.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
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Andrew Long is a Trinity junior and sports editor of The Chronicle's 119th volume.