University of Wisconsin senior linebacker DeAndre Levy could be forgiven if he was distracted during Thursday night's football practice.

It was a little past midway through practice when senior defensive end Matt Shaughnessy went down during a one-on-one pass-rush drill.

"I was sitting out one of the drills," said Levy, who was on the other end of the field at the time. "I looked back and saw (Shaughnessy) on the ground. "I was like, 'Oh, my God, again.' "

Practice had to go on as usual, but after Shaughnessy was wheeled off and sent directly to the hospital, most of the air seemed to be sucked outside of the McClain Center.

"It's frustrating," strong safety Jay Valai said. "That's my boy, too. I'm good friends with Matt. You've just got to keep going."

The UW defensive players have had all too much experience with that this spring.

After running back Zach Brown left the spring game with a bruised lower leg, the unofficial count is 27 players who missed practice due to injuries or suffered a significant injury in practice.

That's why the relief was palpable after UW coach Bret Bielema informed the players Shaughnessy's injury wasn't as serious as initially feared.

Shaughnessy broke the fibula, the smaller of the two bones in his lower right leg. He is expected to be out six to eight weeks and should be ready for the start of fall camp.

"He's going to be ready for the fall," Valai said. "That's the biggest thing for us. He's a great player to have, one of the best D-ends in the (Big) Ten (Conference)."

With Shaughnessy unavailable for the annual spring game Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium, redshirt freshman Louis Nzegwu switched allegiances, moving from the White (reserves) to the Cardinal (staters). Nzegwu (pronounced NIZ-egg-woo), from Platteville, made the most of the opportunity, finishing with four tackles for 121⁄2 yards in losses.

"I really believe (in) the last week, he began to understand what we want," Bielema said of Nzegwu. "He's still a little light in the tail (231 pounds). He goes hard, he's got a good motor, he's extremely gifted athletically.

"He's put on about 15 to 16 pounds since he's been here. We need a big summer out of him in the weight room to make him a little bit bigger. He could be something for us on third down. He's got great explosion."

Nzegwu, a former running back in high school, showed that on one play.

He got around redshirt freshman tackle Josh Oglesby — almost before Oglesby could get out of his stance — and tackled tailback John Clay in the backfield for a 4-yard loss.

"I went out there and I knew it was my opportunity to step up and take Matt's spot, just give it my all," Nzegwu said.

The defensive line had as many as eight players with injuries in the spring. The one to Shaughnessy could have been the one to break its collective back.

"Everybody's falling down," Nzegwu said of the reaction. "We said, 'This is the last scenario, the worst-case scenario, we wanted to happen.' And it happened. We just moved on. It was time for other people to step up."

Bielema said the first word he got on Shaughnessy's condition was not good. Then, X-rays were inconclusive. It wasn't until he underwent surgery on Friday, to insert some screws, that the news got better.

"From the moment the doctor saw what was in front of him, to where we are right now, they've been very positive," Bielema said. "I know Matt, he kind of had that sigh of relief, too."

Bielema said the rest of the injured players should be ready for the start of summer conditioning in June. That includes sophomore cornerback Aaron Henry, who is returning from a torn ACL suffered in bowl practices in December.

Not only is Shaughnessy one of the Badgers' best defensive players, he's a likely captain.

"It's a great relief," Nzegwu said. "Matt's a really big mentor to me. I always look up to him. He tells me what to do, makes sure everything is good."