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Wisconsin RB duo Chez Mellusi, Isaac Guerendo detail injury recovery ahead of 2022 preseason practice
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Wisconsin saw a pair of key players see their 2021 seasons cut short due to injury.
First, Isaac Guerendo played in 4 games before a Lisfranc fracture suffered during warmups ahead of Oct. 9’s contest at Illinois shelved him for the remainder of the campaign. Then, Chez Mellusi, who played in 9 games, ended up tearing his ACL at Rutgers on Nov. 6.
Both players couldn’t participate during spring practice, but are in the fold as preseason practice gets underway in Madison on Wednesday. Mellusi, during the Badgers’ media day on Tuesday, said that he felt “great” and that he is “not limited”. Meanwhile, Guerendo himself declared himself “full-go, 100-percent for Day 1” against Illinois State for Sept. 3.
“It puts a smile on my face being able to be back out there with my brothers,” he said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Jeff Portrykus. “It has been hard but finally getting back out there has been the best part of it.”
Mellusi discussed a gradual return to form that continued during the team’s summer workout session.
“It started to feel really good in April and going into summer workouts I started to feel like myself,” he said. “It is mental when it comes to that point. I feel like my knee was strong, really strong. I passed my (physical) tests at six to seven months out. From that point it was just me, getting used to cutting at a 90-degreen angle and just trusting myself.”