SANTA CLARA, Calif. — After a trio of injury scares to key players in the past week, the San Francisco 49ers are likely to have all three of those players available for Saturday night’s NFC divisional-round showdown with the Green Bay Packers.
Neither linebacker Fred Warner nor quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo appeared on Thursday’s injury report, and defensive end Nick Bosa is close to being back, drawing a questionable tag.
That means Warner’s sprained right ankle is feeling better and Garoppolo will play through a sprained right shoulder and thumb. Bosa has another step to clear to get through concussion protocol, but coach Kyle Shanahan expressed optimism that will happen.
“It’s looking good,” Shanahan said Thursday.
Throughout the week, the Niners expressed confidence that all three players would be able to play in Green Bay, but Bosa’s status was the most up in the air given the unpredictable nature of head injuries.
Bosa suffered the injury in the second quarter of Sunday’s win against the Dallas Cowboys when teammate D.J. Jones accidentally hit him in the helmet with his knee as they converged on quarterback Dak Prescott.
The Niners played the rest of that game without Bosa. He was able to practice on a limited basis Wednesday and Thursday, a sign he has been trending in the right direction.
“He’s come along well going through the NFL protocol there,” defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans said Wednesday. “Definitely need him out there.”
Garoppolo’s injury was a surprise addition on Monday when Shanahan announced he suffered a “slightly” sprained right throwing shoulder in the Dallas game. That was on top of the torn ligament in his right thumb he was already managing.
On Tuesday, Garoppolo indicated he would be good to go against the Packers but made no guarantees, offering only that he “would feel it out throughout the week.” Garoppolo was limited in Tuesday’s light practice but was listed as a full participant on Wednesday and Thursday.
Garoppolo acknowledged the shoulder issue does affect his ability to throw, much like the thumb injury, but he doesn’t intend to let either bother him too much.
“It’s playoff football,” Garoppolo said. “We know what time it is and there ain’t no time to rest right now.”
After spraining his right ankle with a little less than nine minutes left against the Cowboys, Warner wasted little time offering reassurances that he would be OK.
He had tests done on his ankle Monday morning, and once those revealed it was not a high ankle sprain, he was confident that he’d be able to play against the Packers. He took to Twitter soon after to proclaim as such and, like Garoppolo, was limited on Tuesday before full practices Wednesday and Thursday.
“The fact that the MRI results came back great, it was good news for sure,” Warner said. “The way I’ve been feeling gives me a lot of confidence for Saturday.”
Elsewhere on the Niners injury report, cornerback Ambry Thomas (knee) and defensive end Jordan Willis are also listed as questionable. For the second week in a row, nobody on the active roster has been designated as out or doubtful leading into the weekend.