Is Jalen Washington playing today? UNC injury update for rivalry matchup vs. Duke

North Carolina's past two games have proven how valuable junior center Jalen Washington is to the Tar Heels. After being a driving force in the team's 102-96 overtime win over Boston College, he sat out the ensuing contest against Pittsburgh, which they lost.

Washington sprained his left knee in the victory versus the Eagles, and the severity of the matter was enough to sideline him at Pitt. Suddenly, his status for the first of at least two highly anticipated grudge matches with Duke is in jeopardy.

Is Jalen Washington playing today? UNC injury update for rivalry matchup vs. Duke

On Thursday, Tar Heels head coach Hubert Davis told reporters that Washington is "planning to practice" with the team (h/t ABC11's Travon Miles). However, to what extent is ostensibly unclear.

Davis was unsure about Washington's workload leading up to the Tar Heels' blue-blood battle with Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday night. Typically, that can be an ominous sign for someone's availability. But perhaps North Carolina is erring on the side of caution to ensure the latter is ready to face the Blue Devils, considering his importance to their outlook.

Despite coming off the bench for the first time since Dec. 21, Washington dominated Boston College in the paint when we last saw him. He scored a career-high 18 points on an efficient 7-of-10 shooting, adding six rebounds and three assists. He's thrived since his re-insertion into the starting lineup nine games ago (including the lone instance as a reserve against Boston College), averaging 8.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks while converting 58.5 and 84.6 percent of his field goals and free throws, respectively. The big man's interior presence looms over North Carolina's prospects of extending their winning streak over Duke to three.

Win-loss records and recent trends can be thrown out the window whenever these two schools meet. Duke-UNC is a perpetually spirited clash of college basketball titans, regardless of the circumstances. With Blue Devils freshman sensation Cooper Flagg on tap, it'll be an all-hands-on-deck effort for the Tar Heels, further spotlighting Washington's heath.