Football will be without the services of Tommylee Lewis, senior wide receiver and return specialist, for the rest of the 2014 season due to a lower body injury, according to a news release.

Lewis, who was wearing a walking boot on his left foot at practice Tuesday, wasn’t injured on a specific play during a game or practice, said head coach Rod Carey after practice.

“It wasn’t [an] all-of-a-sudden thing,” Carey said. “It was a culmination of things that kind of had built up and all of a sudden it got to a point at Northwestern where it got so bad he couldn’t do it after that game anymore.”

Lewis had been dealing with a foot injury during the offseason, and Carey said during a Sept. 16 news conference Lewis’ injury was “related, but a little different.”

Carey said Lewis isn’t a guy who can be replaced with another player; it’ll take a group effort to fill the wide receiver’s shoes.

“I got a lot of confidence in Chad Beebe, a lot of confidence in Aregeros Turner, a lot of confidence in Ezra Saffold, who kind of are all those middle guys, those inside guys,” Carey said. “As a group they bring a lot to the table, so I think we’ll be fine there, but I’m not going to go ahead and say, ‘Yeah, we don’t miss him.’ Of course you’re going to miss him.”

The Huskies can apply for a medical hardship waiver through the MAC at the end of the season, essentially making 2014 a redshirt year for Lewis and 2015 his senior season of eligibility.

Lewis had four receptions for 28 yards in the first two games this season.