Luke Fickell’s squad picked up a B1G win on Friday, but potentially with a significant cost.

The Wisconsin Badgers got a nice conference win on Friday, beating the Purdue Boilermakers by a score of 38-17. Unfortunately, the team did not get away from West Lafayette completely unscathed. Running back Chez Mellusi was carted off the field late in the game with an apparent leg injury.

Fickell was asked about Mellusi’s injury after the win.

“Yeah, I don’t know exactly what the deal is. I don’t know that it looks good,” Fickell said in his postgame press conference. “They’re hurting in there. If we lose him for a while, it will be tough.”

Mellusi and fellow Wisconsin RB Braelon Allen combine to form one of the best rushing attacks in the nation. If Mellusi is indeed out for a while, the Badger rushing attack will suffer. Mellusi has 51 carries for 306 yards and 4 TDs.

“He’s not just a great football player for us, he’s not just a great tailback,” explained Fickell. “He’s a bit of a heart and soul of some of the things that we do. All the things he’s gone through, and some of those ups and downs, and the injuries, to have the attitude that he has, he’s a big part. If he can’t play for a while, he’ll still be a really big part of what we do.”

The Badgers will return to Madison to face Rutgers next Saturday.