San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner indicated he may be able to return from his three-month stint on the injured list in Saturday night’s divisional-round matchup with the Seattle Seahawks.
The 49ers opened Warner’s 21-day practice window Tuesday with the intention of activating the four-time All-Pro for a potential appearance in the NFC Championship Game.
Out since Oct. 12 with a fractured and dislocated right ankle, Warner told local media Wednesday that he is proceeding “day by day” and has not ruled out playing as soon as this weekend.
“Just so grateful, blessed to be back,” Warner said. “When all this happened, I didn’t really think about the possibility of returning in-season. But the way things progressed and being able to have this opportunity to be back with my teammates and have a chance at helping them win this week and so on and so forth, that’s my only goal going forward.”
Warner, who needs to pass multiple health checkpoints to be cleared to play, was a limited participant in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday. The 49ers plan to practice again Thursday and travel to Seattle on Friday.
Limited to six appearances in the regular season, Warner also missed San Francisco’s 23-19 win in the wild-card round against the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles. Eric Kendricks was promoted from the practice squad to start at middle linebacker.
Warner’s return would provide an emotional boost following the loss of tight end George Kittle, who tore his right Achilles at Philadelphia.
“Just pure energy,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said about Warner. “Fred is the ultimate energy giver, so just having him out there is awesome.”
Warner joined the 49ers as a third-round draft pick in 2018 and has posted career totals of 948 tackles, 17 forced fumbles, 10 sacks and 10 interceptions in 121 games (all starts).
His 12 playoff starts include appearances in two Super Bowls, both of which San Francisco lost to the Patrick Mahomes-led Kansas City Chiefs.
