Corey Clement had big shoes to fill as he replaced Melvin Gordon as the Wisconsin Badgers' starting running back. A groin injury has slowed the junior already in 2015, and he suffered another setback Thursday.
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Clement to Undergo Surgery for Sports Hernia
Thursday, Sept. 24
The school confirmed Clement will miss four to six weeks following sports hernia surgery. In the press release, head coach Paul Chryst discussed how the Badgers exhausted every option before ultimately opting for this route.
"Corey has been dealing with some issues since before the Alabama game," Chryst said. "He has been undergoing treatment since that time and has seen some progress but not to the point where our medical staff is satisfied. So after consultation with our medical staff, Corey has decided to have surgery for a sports hernia."
ESPN.com's Brian Bennett believes this news could mean the end of an impressive streak the school has put together over the years:
With Clement hobbled, Wisconsin has relied on redshirt freshman Taiwan Deal and junior Dare Ogunbowale to shoulder the load in the backfield. Deal and Ogunbowale have run for 143 and 196 yards, respectively, and two touchdowns apiece.
The bulk of those yards came in the Badgers' comfortable wins over Miami (Ohio) and Troy, so the pair have yet to be truly tested this season.
Wisconsin plays Hawaii this Saturday, which should allow Chryst to further experiment with his backfield to determine whether Deal or Ogunbowale will be the feature back.
Should everything go according to plan with Clement's recovery, he'd return right around the time Wisconsin plays Illinois on Oct. 24. The key will be having him healthy for the games against Northwestern and Minnesota in November, which are shaping up to be the Badgers' most difficult matchups remaining on their schedule.
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