Aberdeen midfielder Leighton Clarkson has backed Duk to quickly return to the levels where he “is a nightmare to play against”.
Cape Verde international Duk is battling to resurrect his Pittodrie career, having gone AWOL for three months during the summer.
The 24-year-old returned to Pittodrie after the summer transfer window closed.
Duk issued an apology whichwas accepted by manager Jimmy Thelin.
The recently-appointed Pittodrie gaffer has since spent weeks working with the attacker in training to get him integrated into his playing style.
Thelin named Duk in a match-day squad for the first time in the 2-1 win against Dundee – although the attacker was an unused substitute.
It was the first time the former Benfica player had been in a match-day squad since the final game of last season on May 19.
Duk netted 18 goals in his debut season at Pittodrie in 2022-23 and scooped the Aberdeen Player of the Year award.
Clarkson reckons he will quickly rediscover that level.
He said: “Now Duk is back in the squad, he is another threat.
“He is a nightmare to play against and scores goals.
“Hopefully, we can get him back firing quickly, as we all know the quality Duk has when he is on form.
“Duk has been looking sharp in training and as fit as ever.
“It is about now getting up to speed.”
Hearts’ mammoth Euro journey
Duk is in contention to get game-time for the first time in more than four months when Aberdeen host Hearts on Sunday.
Hearts finished third in the Premiership last season to secure European qualification.
However, the Tynecastle club have struggled to balance domestic and Euro commitments and failed to win any of their 10 games this season.
Hearts recently sacked Steven Naismith as their manager following a run of eight straight defeats.
Clarkson is seeing a similar pattern as Aberdeen, when they finished third in 2022-23, but then struggled to balance Europe with domestic action last term.
The Reds competed in the UEFA Conference League group stage but finished in the Premiership bottom six last season.
Hearts face a tough clash against Dinamo Minsk (Belarus) at a neutral venue in Sumqayit, Azerbaijan on Thursday evening.
The Jambos will travel straight to Aberdeen from Azerbaijan the next day in a bid to reduce the Euro hangover.
Clarkson reckons their mammoth eight-hour flight across multiple time-zones will give Aberdeen an advantage.
The Dons currently hold a 16-point lead over Premiership bottom club Hearts, and also have a game in hand.
Clarkson said: “Europe is where you want to be, but at times teams in the Scottish league can struggle with the demands.
“You get to Europe and maybe don’t deal with the bread and butter of the league.
“I think in my three seasons here the teams who have finished third and gone into the group stages have struggled a bit.
“Every team needs to strive to do well in both, but it can be difficult.
“We play Hearts and they are away in Azerbaijan, which is a long trip.
“We aren’t in Europe so that gives us a little advantage going into the game, not having to fly eight hours there and back.
“Yes, Europe is difficult, but that is what we are striving for.”
The demands of European action
Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin this week confirmed he is targeting “consistent” European qualification.
The Dons have regularly qualified for Europe during the last decade, but failed to deliver continental action for 2022-23 and for this season.
Clarkson had European experience with Liverpool prior to moving to Aberdeen.
The midfielder started for Premier League giants in a 1-1 Champions League group match draw with FC Midtjylland in December 2020.
That season he was also on the bench in Champions League games against Real Madrid, Ajax, Atalanta and Red Bull Leipzig.
Did Clarkson expect it to be so difficult for Aberdeen to balance Europe and domestic action last season?
He said: “I had done bits and bobs with Liverpool in the Champions League.
“That is the Wednesday and we were then playing in the Premier League on the Saturday.
“I was still doing everything, but I wasn’t playing on the Saturday. And it was still tough.
“It does take a bit of a toll on you.
“You do have to go into games with a different mindset and a different way of playing.
“We have built our squad now and if players can’t play then others can come in and fill their positions nicely.
“We will be pushing for Europe and hopefully next season we can be there.”
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