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Mike McGlinchey talks ‘tough deal’ of watching 49ers at home after near-perfect injury record

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© Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports


Mike McGlinchey’s injury record was pretty close to immaculate. He’s never missed a football game, as far as he could recall, at any level. But after a pain in his right knee which he didn’t believe to be related to any sort of significant injury, he was suddenly sidelined for four-to-six weeks, requiring arthroscopic surgery.

McGlinchey sustained the right knee injury in a 31-3 win on Monday Night Football over the Cleveland Browns. As head coach Kyle Shanahan had initially described, there was an immediate moment of the injury and then a second part to it, in the third quarter of the game, when McGlinchey was, “rolled up on.”

“We were in space and my guy had gotten picked up and I turned back to look for work and got kind of a wave on the inside of my body and just clipped it, I guess, and then the final straw was I got rolled up on in the third quarter and then it kind of wasn’t right for the rest of the day,” McGlinchey said.

For someone unaccustomed to riding pine, McGlinchey said it wasn’t an enjoyable experience. His mother, Janet, flew in from St. Louis on Thursday morning to be with him after his surgery, and left on Tuesday.

“Yeah, this is a pretty tough deal,” McGlinchey said. “I had to sit home with my mom this weekend. Watch my team on TV, which sucked. But you know, at least they’re showing up and showing out and kicking ass, so that’s all I can ask for.”

The experience, McGlinchey said, took something of a mental toll. He was, however, able to watch his replacement, Daniel Brunskill, play tremendously in his stead. McGlinchey said he called Brunskill before the game, and was impressed by the display, saying “he played his ass off.”

“It would have been a lot harder had the game not gone the way it did,” McGlinchey said. “But it’s tough. Not only just not playing but not even traveling with the team, it does a little bit to your psyche, you know, sit there and boredom all weekend and then you’re watching the job that you’re supposed to be doing. You’re just watching and you’re just you’re as equal to a fan at that point. So, it’s tough but it’s, you know, it’s a process. It’s a humbling experience…You know, shit happens.”

In addition to the support of his mother, McGlinchey also had some support from the daughter of fellow injured tackle Joe Staley. Staley’s oldest daughter, Grace, made a personalized card for McGlinchey, which he hung on his locker.