The 49ers’ injury list continues to grow longer. The team is spending the week at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, in search of some respite.
Kyle Shanahan provided a lengthy list of injury updates on Monday, adding a few names to the list, but providing some encouraging updates, too.
Here’s the list:
Not practicing:
- Arik Armstead (foot/ankle) – He did not make the trip out and will not play this week. Whle there was some consideration to placing him on injured reserve, Shanahan said the 49ers have decided to do that, with the benefit of a Week 9 bye on the horizon.
- Javon Kinlaw (knee) – He did make the trip, but is unlikely to play this week.
- Trent Williams (ankle)
- Nick Bosa (groin) – “I know he’s got a chance to play, but I know it doesn’t feel good enough to go today.”
- Samson Ebukam (Achilles)
- Robbie Gould (left knee contusion) – “We signed a kicker just in case. We’ll probably test it out either tomorrow or Friday.”
Limited
- Tyler Kroft (knee)
- Tarvarius Moore (hamstring)
- Aaron Banks (knee)
- Danny Gray (illness)
Both Samson Ebukam and Aaron Banks are new injuries from Sunday’s game in Carolina. Shanahan described both as “tendinitis from the turf.”
Shanahan also confirmed that Jimmie Ward had surgery on his broken hand, has a cast on it and can potentially play in a few weeks, but that won’t be known until he’s re-evaluated in 10 days.
“It’s deciding how the cast fits, if he’ll be able to play football with that and protect himself and perform at a high level,” Shanahan said. “Which, you don’t want to try and figure that out a few days after the surgery. You have to do it at least 10 days [after], so we’ll just see if he’s comfortable enough to do it.”
There is some more encouraging news, though, in addition to Tyler Kroft’s return to practice. Ty Davis-Price, who suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 2, is back in practice on Wednesday. He will either be limited or have no injury designation.
Jason Verrett will also practice for the first time fully on Wednesday. As stated at the start of the season, Shanahan and the 49ers staff are wary of making sure Verrett is fully healthy and comfortable before he plays.
He returned too early, Shanahan said, against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2019, and his season was over promptly. They want to avoid a similar fate this time around.
“Got to make sure he can go through all the routes, see everything in practice, stuff you figure out throughout training camp,” Shanahan said. “But sometimes it’s tough when it’s just a carded practice. In ’19, we all felt like he was there, then he got into some situations where you could see he wasn’t, so that’s what we’re trying to not do.”
As a final note, Trey Lance did not make the trip given the desire to rest and rehab his ankle, but Shanahan said that he should be able to join the team on the remaining road trips this season.
