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Wisconsin kicker Rafael Gaglianone out for the season

Wisconsin's Rafael Gaglianone hit three field goals to help the Badgers beat LSU. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
Wisconsin’s Rafael Gaglianone hit three field goals to help the Badgers beat LSU. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)

Wisconsin will be without kicker Rafael Gaglianone for the rest of the season.

The program announced Thursday that Gaglianone, a junior from Brazil, bad surgery for a back injury on Thursday. The injury kept him out of last Saturday’s big win over Michigan State. In a release, the school said his “condition appeared to improve Sunday but worsened in the days that followed.” At that point, surgery was considered the best option.

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Gaglianone, who missed spring practice in 2015 with a similar back issue, had converted on 7-of-8 field goals in the first three games of the season, including a 47-yarder late in the fourth quarter to beat LSU in the opener.

“You’re disappointed for Rafael because of all the work he’s put in and how well he was playing,” Badgers head coach Paul Chryst said. “From a football perspective, I’ve appreciated the way the other guys in that unit have responded this week.”

Gaglianone has been the Badgers’ top kicker since he arrived on campus in 2014. That season, he earned honorable mention All-Big Ten by making 19-of-22 attempts, including 14 straight to end the season. In 2015, he converted on 18-of-27 field goal tries.

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Without Gaglianone against the Spartans, Wisconsin turned to senior Andrew Endicott. He missed an early extra point but responded by nailing a 41-yard field goal in the third quarter, the first of his career. Endicott, a former walk-on, has primarily served as a kickoff specialist during his career.

The Badgers, now ranked No. 8 in the country, will travel to Ann Arbor to face No. 4 Michigan on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

For more Wisconsin news, visit BadgerBlitz.com.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!