Wisconsin will be without its top rusher as it looks to recover from two straight losses.
The Badgers announced on Thursday that Chez Mellusi is stepping away from the team, at least for now, to focus on getting healthy.
“We want to let people know that Chez is going to be stepping away from the team for now and working to get his body healthy,” the statement said.
“He’s endured many injuries and has worked extremely hard to be able to play this year, but his body hasn’t responded the way he expected. We’re here to support Chez in any way we can and hope he’ll be back on the football field again one day.”
Mellusi has led Wisconsin with 232 rushing yards on 56 carries. He also has three touchdown runs, tying him with Tawee Walker for the team lead.
In his career, Mellusi has rushed for 2,254 yards over two seasons at Clemson (2019-20) and four seasons at Wisconsin (2021-24). Almost all of his 463 carries, except for 71, have been with Wisconsin.
Injuries have affected him throughout his time with the Badgers.
In 2021, Mellusi rushed for 815 yards in nine games before a torn ACL ended his season early. He missed four games in 2022 due to an arm injury, and last year, a leg injury limited him to just four games.
Wisconsin (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten) will host Purdue (1-3, 0-1) on Saturday.
