An unspecified health issue has kept UCLA leading rusher Carson Steele off the practice field this week and his status for Saturday’s LA Bowl against Boise State is still to be determined, Bruins running backs coach DeShaun Foster said Wednesday.

Steele was not spotted on the field Monday or Tuesday during the media observation window. Those were the only two days media was permitted to watch the early periods of practice this week.

“His availability is still going to be determined by the trainers. We’ll probably know more toward the end of the week, like Friday,” Foster said during a virtual bowl game conference call.

In his first season with UCLA, Steele split the bulk of the carries with sophomore T.J. Harden. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound junior, a transfer from Ball State, ran for a team-high 847 yards and matched Harden with six touchdowns.

Both running backs appeared in all 12 regular-season games. Steele, in particular, is a tough runner who often seeks out contact.

In the passing game, Steele also caught 17 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns.

Harden, if called upon to shoulder the load, proved to be an equally capable ball carrier. The Inglewood native, who will be in his backyard at SoFi Stadium, ran for 722 yards and handled 136 carries to Steele’s 167 as part of a 1-2 punch that has alternated the load, at times, based on matchups and the flow of games.

With the number of opt-outs and outgoing transfers on both teams, in addition to any to-be-determined game-time decisions like Steele, Boise State offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan said it will make the hour before the 4:30 p.m. kickoff that much more important.

“It’s certainly a challenge, right, from a preparation standpoint, not knowing who you’re going up against,” Hamdan said. “But we’ll take as many opt-outs as we can get. So, we’ll be out there for pregame warm-ups and we’ll kind of…marking the players — who’s in, who’s out from an injury standpoint. I do think, on both sides, it will probably be pretty critical the hour before the game to get good information, find out who is actually playing.”