49ers HC Kyle Shanahan said Isaac Guerendo is unlikely to practice this week.
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan provided injury updates on Monday afternoon for key players like Isaac Guerendo, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa, and role players like left guard Ben Bartch.
Bartch will likely go on the injured reserve after the team confirmed he has a high-ankle sprain.
Guerendo has a foot sprain. He’ll be evaluated over the next couple of days. So we likely won’t know whether Guerendo would be available for Thursday night until the last minute. Guerendo was seen in the locker room without a boot. Shanahan said, “he definitely can’t go today. I’ll be surprised if he can go tomorrow. Hopefully, Thursday will be enough time for him.”
Quarterback Brock Purdy has no lingering issues from a roughing the passer penalty against the Chicago Bears.
Linebacker Dee Winters is on the injury report again with an ankle injury. He’ll be day-to-day. His speed is imperative to the Niners’ defensive success, especially against an offense as multiple as the Rams.
Winters technically started as the third linebacker against the Bears, but he is starting to play next to Fred Warner, at least occasionally, on obvious passing downs again. Week 14 was the second-most snaps Winters had played in a game since Week 7.
Rookie Malik Mustapha is day-to-day with a chest and shoulder injury. Shanahan spoke about the decision to start Mustapha over Ji’Ayir Brown and called Malik one of the team’s best defenders during the past month. It’s tough to disagree there.
There were no new updates for Bosa. He is in the same situation as the previous weeks and will be evaluated as the week goes on. The same is true for Trent Williams.
With Bartch out, Aaron Banks cleared protocol. He’ll be good to go for Thursday night. Linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles is also day-to-day still with a knee injury.
Shanahan said, “There’s a chance” for Dre Greenlaw this week. He hadn’t spoken to Dre yet on Monday, but they’ll monitor how practice goes this week and go from there.
I asked Shanahan how he feels about Thursday night games. We’ll have more on that later, but these quick turnarounds are the reasons players like Guerendo, Greenlaw, Bosa, and Wiliams might not play in the most pivotal game of the season.