Shoulder injury to Duke's Tre Jones not considered serious and he has not been ruled out for game vs. Virginia

Jones is the defensive hound leading Duke and its dominant defense this season that has risen to the top of most metrics

Duke freshman point guard Tre Jones left Monday night's game early with a separated AC joint in his right shoulder, and given the gruesome nature of the injury upon replay along with obvious pain he was enduring, there was concern he may miss an extended amount of time for the top-ranked Blue Devils.

But early reports suggest Jones is trending towards a faster-than-expected return. CBS Sports' Gary Parrish, who is in Durham, N.C. before  Saturday's big-time matchup between No. 1 Duke and No. 4 Virginia, has learned that, as expected, he's not expected to play in the weekend's biggest game -- but he's not officially been ruled out.

I’m at Duke and, for what it’s worth, Tre Jones has not officially been ruled out of Saturday’s game with Virginia. Seems doubtful that he plays. But nobody is ruling it out.

— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) January 17, 2019

A source also told Parrish that Jones did not practice on Thursday with Duke, but he was, as the source said, "on the court doing some things." Whether he returns Saturday or three Saturday's from now, the expectation is that it will be soon. Playing on Saturday, though unlikely, is still possible.

Jones is averaging 8.1 points, 5.7 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game for the top-ranked Blue Devils this season, and ranks third in the country in assist/turnover ratio.