MADISON, Wis. — Starting cornerback Deron Harrell been ruled out for No. 20 Wisconsin (5-2, 3-1) ahead of Saturday’s clash with Northwestern (4-3, 4-1).

The redshirt freshman cornerback suffered a leg injury in practice this week, according to head coach Paul Chryst.

“Feel bad. I liked where he was going,” Chryst told reporters Thursday. “He’s gotta get back healthy. We still have more season to play.”

“We have a number of other guys who see that situation and quit. In all reality, they kind of quit — at least for a while. To get guys to understand to push through that is definitely one of the treats of coaching.”

Wisconsin will however get redshirt freshman cornerback Faion Hicks back in the lineup. Hicks was injured against Michigan and did not play in last week’s 49-20 win over Illinois.

“Faion Hicks will for sure be back this week,” Leonhard confirmed Wednesday. “He was very close last week and probably could have played in a smaller role.”

The Badgers will also be without redshirt freshman Scott Nelson (leg) against the Wildcats. Nelson is battling a leg injury suffered against the Wolverines and will miss his second-straight game.

In six appearances, Nelson owns 25 tackles, 2.5 for loss, five pass breakups, an interception, and a forced fumble. Sophomore safety Eric Burrell is expected to take Nelson’s place in the starting lineup for the third-straight game.

UW also has two players that will be game-time decisions.

Senior safety D’Cota Dixon, who has missed the past two games, continues to be hampered by a leg injury. Senior defensive tackle Olive Sagapolu (leg) is also questionable, but has been doing individual drills this week.

“Just trying to test out where he’s at physically,” said Leonhard. “We haven’t put him in team situations yet. We’ll see. I think it will truly be a game-time situation.