Sept. 30, 2010

PITTSBURGH - Duquesne senior forward David Theis (Pittsburgh, Pa./Vincentian Academy/Mercersburg Prep) will be sidelined indefinitely with a third-degree ankle sprain. Theis injured the ankle in a pick-up game with his teammates on Monday afternoon.

X-rays done Monday showed no fracture, but an MRI done Tuesday revealed multiple ligament tears and bone bruises.

Early indications are that he could be sidelined from 6-8 weeks depending on how the ankle responds to treatment.

"Dave is fortunate that preliminary reports indicate that he will not need surgery," said Duquesne head coach Ron Everhart. "The plan is to proceed with conservative treatment and see how he responds to rehab. I feel bad because he worked so hard to come back from hand surgery this summer. Dave has battled back from injury before. He's a tough kid."

Theis, who has played in 41 career games, underwent surgery to repair a broken bone in this right hand - also suffered in a pick-up game - on May 21. He missed six weeks of summer conditioning while recovering.

"I'm glad that I don't need surgery," said Theis. "I'm just anxious to do what I need to do to get ready to play."

Theis, who attended Vincentian Academy located just north of Pittsburgh, came to Duquesne from Mercersburg (Pa.) Academy where he worked his way back following surgery to repair a torn ACL in December of 2005.

The 6-8, 235-pounder averaged 0.3 points and 0.3 rebounds in six games last season. He averaged 2.6 ppg. in 24 games in 2008-09.

Duquesne begins practice for the 2010-11 season on Friday, October 15.