SANTA CLARA, Calif. — As the San Francisco 49ers departed Green Bay late Saturday night, injury questions lingered over two of their best players.
On Monday, Niners coach Kyle Shanahan offered updates on left tackle Trent Williams and receiver Deebo Samuel as the team prepares for Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams.
Williams, who is dealing with a right ankle injury, will be monitored as the week goes on, which leaves his game status unclear. Samuel is sore but OK after taking a helmet to his right knee on his run that set up the game-winning field goal. Samuel is expected to be available for practice this week, Shanahan said.
Williams suffered a right ankle sprain midway through San Francisco’s 13-10 win against the Packers. He didn’t come out of the game, but after the victory he was seen on crutches headed toward the X-ray room at Lambeau Field.
X-rays on Williams’ ankle showed no fractures, but more tests showed some older issues that are lingering in the ankle and have made it hard to determine the severity of the current injury. It’s similar to the situation the Niners went through last week with defensive end Jordan Willis, in which the initial diagnosis showed a potential high ankle sprain, but when things settled, the newer ankle sprain wasn’t as severe.
“You have got to see how the week goes and whether it heals,” Shanahan said of Williams’ ankle injury. “If it was a high [sprain], then I’d rule him out. But there are more components to it. … So, you have just got to wait and before you declare what it is, you’ve got to see how it heals and reacts throughout the week. So, that’s about all I can say and that’s what we’ll be waiting on to find out.”
Shanahan said the Niners will have to manage Williams and see how he progresses throughout the week before his status for the game can be determined. Willis was able to play against the Packers, blocking the punt that provided the game-tying points, after he was listed as questionable on the injury report.
Williams did not play in the last meeting with the Rams because of an elbow injury. Colton McKivitz replaced Williams in that Week 18 contest.
Elsewhere on the injury front, Niners running back Jeff Wilson Jr. suffered a low ankle sprain covering the first kickoff of Saturday’s game, but he, too, has a chance to play.
Shanahan said cornerback Ambry Thomas, who was a pregame inactive Saturday because of a bone bruise on his knee, should also be able to return to practice this week.
“We were hoping he was going to be close [to playing] but by the time he got there we could tell there was no point in working him out,” Shanahan said. “So, it ended up not being as close as we hoped for. We know he’s doing better today compared to how he was on Sunday. So, I think he has a much better chance of playing this week. Hopefully he’s ready for practice on Wednesday.”