MADISON, Wis. – The No. 9 Wisconsin Badgers have only played two games this season, but so far they’ve had a hard time shaking the injury bug.

First they lost sophomore inside linebacker Chris Orr for the rest of the season to an ACL injury on their first defensive snap of the year, and now they’ll have to make do without junior nickel back and kickoff returner Natrell Jamerson for at least the next few weeks.

Jamerson injured his leg during UW’s 54-10 win over Akron on Saturday, and head coach Paul Chryst said Jamerson could return to the field in about four to six weeks. Assuming Jamerson doesn’t have any setbacks that timeframe means he could return in mid-to-late October, right as the Badgers are moving in to the second half of their Big Ten slate.

“(I) don’t know for sure how long Natrell will probably be out. Probably four-to-six weeks,” Chryst said Monday at his weekly press conference. “Every time a guy gets hurt your first thought is … I feel bad for Natrell. He’s a neat kid, fun to be around, and yet yesterday in talking to him he’s got the right approach.”

Jamerson will be hard to replace because he does several different jobs for the Badgers. In addition to playing as the team’s third cornerback, Jamerson has been Wisconsin’s primary kick returner since the start of last season, when he averaged 22.4 yards per return and had one return touchdown against Maryland. In the meantime Chryst said senior running back Corey Clement would be a viable option for UW on kick returns, but the coaching staff will need to find more than one player to fill in for Jamerson.

“(When) a guy like Natrell goes down, he’s a four-phase special teamer, so you’ve got four different guys who will probably get an opportunity, and then in the nickel package we’ll see how this week goes a little bit,” Chryst said.

Chryst mentioned junior defensive back Lubern Figaro as an option to replace Jamerson in defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox’s nickel defense, where the team subs out a defensive lineman for an extra defensive back on passing downs. True freshman Caesar Williams could also be an option after he earned early playing time with a strong performance in fall camp, and redshirt freshman Titus Booker could see a larger role as well.

No matter who emerges in practice, the Badgers will have to continue to roll with the punches on the injury front. They have weathered another storm at inside linebacker so far after sophomore T.J. Edwards returned from a foot injury last week, one week after Orr’s knee injury. But defensive back was an area of concern from a depth standpoint at the start of the season, and the Badgers will have to see if their younger cornerbacks are as ready for action as their reserve linebackers turned out to be.

Who needs to step up with Jamerson out for a few weeks? Discuss in the Badger's Den.

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John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.