Sports

Duke’s Coach K takes leave for back surgery

Hall of Fame Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is stepping away from the team to have lower back surgery.

The school announced Monday that the procedure is scheduled for Friday, with an anticipated recovery time of four weeks. Associate head coach Jeff Capel will take over in Krzyzewski’s absence, starting with a home game Wednesday night against Boston College.

Krzyzewski is expected to miss 4 weeks.

“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% of my energy and attention, which is certainly something that they deserve.”

Duke said Krzyzewski tried several treatment options during the past month before deciding on surgery. Friedman will perform the procedure at Duke University Hospital, according to the school.

Krzyzewski has led the Blue Devils to five national titles and has a team that was ranked No. 1 in the preseason. The Blue Devils dropped three spots to No. 8 — their lowest ranking of the season — in the AP Top 25 released Monday.

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