DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke sophomore Monique Currie will miss the entire season after tearing a ligament in her left knee during an exhibition game.

An All-America candidate for top-ranked Duke, Currie was injured as she drove to the basket in the opening seconds of Tuesday night's 100-51 victory over Premier Players.

She's expected to have surgery in two-to-four weeks and will need about six months to recover, the school said Wednesday.

"We feel very badly for Monique," Duke coach Gail Goestenkors said. "I think the saddest part is people are not going to get a chance to see her play this year and see how much she had improved. She had taken her game to another level."

Currie averaged 14.3 points and six rebounds a game last season as a freshman and was a second-team All-ACC selection. She was named the conference tournament MVP after she had 30 points and 12 rebounds in Duke's 87-80 victory over North Carolina in the title game.

Currie started 22 of 35 games last season and also averaged 27.7 minutes, 6.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists while shooting 49.4 percent from the field. She was a five-time ACC Rookie of the Week who also earned second-team All-ACC and All-ACC Freshman team accolades.

"It goes to show how tough it is to prevent this type of injury," said Alison Toth, director of Duke's women's sports medicine program. "An ACL injury can still occur to even the best-conditioned athletes who are doing all the training to prevent it."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.