Top Iowa WR Matt VandeBerg out indefinitely

Iowa will be without one of its best players indefinitely.

The program announced Tuesday morning that wide receiver Matt VandeBerg suffered a foot injury during practice on Monday. The school did not specify the nature of the injury or how long the senior will be out, other than saying he will “miss games.”

Tom Kakert of HawkeyeReport.com reported Monday night that VandeBerg broke his foot.

“It is unfortunate that Matt will miss some time due to his injury,” Hawkeyes coach Kirk Ferentz said in a statement. “We know that Matt will work extremely hard to get back on the field as soon as possible. We feel confident that some of our younger receivers will step up in Matt’s absence.”

This is a huge blow for Iowa’s offense. VandeBerg is the team’s leader in receptions (19), receiving yards (284) and touchdown catches (3). The team’s second-leading wide receiver is sophomore Jerminic Smith, who has seven catches for 97 yards and one score. Tight end George Kittle has also been a nice option with 10 catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns.

VandeBerg, a native of Brandon, South Dakota, combined for just 20 catches in his first two seasons, but emerged as an All-Big Ten caliber player in 2015 when he totaled 65 receptions for 703 yards and four touchdowns.

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The Hawkeyes are 3-1 thus far this season, but are coming off two lackluster performances — a home loss to North Dakota State and an underwhelming 14-7 road win over Rutgers.

The Hawkeyes will host Northwestern for its homecoming game at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday.

For more Iowa news, visit HawkeyeReport.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!

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