Injuries are inevitable in the NFL, but the 49ers always seem to have a head-scratching amount.
In Sunday’s 11-10 loss to the Broncos, All-Pro left tackle (and probably the NFL’s best) Trent Williams left the game with a high right ankle sprain. Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair also suffered an MCL sprain in the game. Neither returned.
Kyle Shanahan provided updates on those two and a handful of other players on Monday, with at least a few nearing returns.
Williams is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks, though that timeline is variable. It’s the same situation as Ty Davis-Price.
Al-Shaair, meanwhile, is in a similar boat as Elijah Mitchell, who was given an initial timeline of eight weeks to return and was placed on injured reserve. The MCL sprain won’t require surgery, but will probably see him placed on injured reserve.
Ross Dwelley is also day-to-day with a rib injury.
No decisions have been made on placing either Williams or Davis-Price on injured reserve, though.
That’s in large part to the NFL’s amended injured reserve rules, which allow players to return from the list up to twice in a season, but only allow eight total returns.
There is some positive news, though. Daniel Brunskill, who has been sidelined since training camp with a hamstring injury — which sustained a setback at some point in his recovery — is expected to return to practice this week, Shanahan said.
Even if Brunskill is a full go this week, though, he’s looked at as an interior player. Shanahan said Colton McKivitz — who was dealing with an ankle injury and was limited in relief of Trent Williams — is expected to start at left tackle in Williams’ stead.
On the horizon, there are also the potential returns of Jimmie Ward and Jason Verrett. Both are eligible to return to practice after this week and Shanahan said he was hopeful they’d return to practice.