UNC football early injury report before Duke: Who’s healthy and who’s sidelined?

Heading into their matchup at Duke, the UNC football program has at least one player returning to action and some sidelined with lingering injuries.

Mack Brown provided the injury updates during his weekly press conference on Monday morning.

Senior wide receiver Nate McCollum returns to action. McCollum has had limited targets and underwhelming stats this season, but he’ll offer Jacolby Criswell another weapon.

Kaimon Rucker remains as the Tar Heels’ biggest loss this season. The senior defensive end suffered a lower-body injury in Week 1 and underwent minor surgery. Hopefully, the former Second-Team All-ACC defender can get back in action soon. The Tar Heels would greatly benefit from Rucker causing raucous on defense — especially after giving up 70 points to James Madison University.

Senior running back Darwin Barlow hasn’t played since Week 1 at Minnesota, and he remains out with a lower-body injury. In Barlow's absence, freshman running back Davion Gause has stepped up as the team's second option out of the backfield, providing some relief for star Omarion Hampton.

Freshman wide receiver Christian Hamilton suffered a lower-body injury against JMU and will be out for a few weeks. This loss is notable, as not only was Hamilton starting to get more involved in the offense, but we were very close to having the full stable of wide receivers healthy and available all at once.

Hopefully, the Tar Heels can avoid the injury bug and stay healthy. They’ll look to beat their archrival on the road this Saturday and ring the Victory Bell for the sixth time in a row.