Manager Jimmy Thelin has thanked Aberdeen supporters for welcoming Duk back after the striker went AWOL.
Attacker Duk was away from the Dons without permission for three months during the summer with the club launching internal disciplinary proceedings.
The 24-year-old said he wanted to be transferred during the transfer window and then did not return for pre-season training.
Cape Verde attacker Duk finally returned to Pittodrie after the window closed and issued an apology to the club, team-mates, new boss Thelin and supporters.
Although Duk came back fit, he was absent from two match-day squads as Thelin got him up to speed with his style of play and tactics.
The forward returned to the match-day squad for the first time since going AWOL in the 2-1 win against Dundee at the weekend.
He was an unused substitute at Dens Park.
However, as Aberdeen players celebrated a 12th successive win with a 4,091-strong travelling Red Army, captain Graeme Shinnie pushed Duk towards Dons fans in the Bob Shankly Stand.
They gave Duk a warm reception and chanted the attacker’s name.
Thelin reckons supporters’ willingness to forgive Duk and give him a second chance underlines the unity of the club.
On the fans’ reaction to Duk at full-time, Thelin said: “It was nice.
“It is part of our club, how we look after each other and help each other.
“It makes us grow as a team and as people.”
Thelin building a strong team spirit
The win at Dundee was the first time Duk had been named in a match-day squad since a 2-2 draw at Ross County on May 19.
That was the final game of last season when the attacker was introduced off the bench mid-way through the second half.
Signed from Benfica in summer 2022, Duk scooped Aberdeen’s Player of the Year award in his debut campaign when scoring 18 goals.
However, he failed to hit those same levels last season, netting seven goals.
Duk is in the final year of his deal and is free to sign a pre-contract with another club on January 1.
The attacker’s former club Benfica are reportedly due 50% of any transfer fee.
Aberdeen players all welcomed Duk, who is a popular figure in the dressing room, on his return to Pittodrie.
And Shinnie’s gesture in pushing the attacker towards the fans, who also welcomed him, was the latest step on Duk’s road to Reds redemption.
Thelin said: “From day one we only talk about team spirit, you need that.
“A good squad is also good team-mates.
“If they play or if they don’t play, we need to keep that energy together.
“This togetherness is everything for us. It is a togetherness we share with the supporters and all the other people that work inside the club.
“That is the atmosphere we have right now at Cormack Park and at Pittodrie. That is the key.
“We need energy from every direction to keep moving as a football club and also as a football team.
“You could see that energy with all the supporters who travelled to the Dundee game and pushed us to get the win.”
‘It is so tight in every game’
Thelin equalled a long-standing record when guiding Aberdeen to victory at Dundee.
The Swede joins Martin O’Neill as having the best ever start as a boss in Scottish football.
O’Neill also won his first 12 games after taking over as Celtic manager in 2000.
Aberdeen will now bid for a 13th straight win when hosting struggling Hearts at Pittodrie on Sunday.
Hearts are in the hunt for a new manager, having sacked Steven Naismith after an eight-game losing streak.
Aberdeen are already 16 points ahead of Hearts, who finished third in the Premiership last season.
Thelin’s Reds also have a game in hand on the Tynecastle club.
Hearts face a tough Conference League fixture against Dinamo Minsk (Belarus) at a neutral venue in Sumqayit, Azerbaijan, on Thursday.
It is a mammoth 5,300-mile round trip for the Edinburgh club.
Thelin said: “It is so tight in every game in this league, so we have to keep pushing.
“We have to keep training and working hard, focusing on our job.
“We must stick to that.”
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