There was some hope that the San Francisco 49ers’ injury concerns could be alleviated heading into their Week 2 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings.
Their first practice participation report leading into that game isn’t promising on the injury front. It largely looks like the reports from Week 1 where a handful of starters or key rotation players were absent for the season opener.
Here’s what Wednesday’s practice report looked like:
Did not participate
DE Yetur Gross-Matos (knee)
LB Dee Winters (ankle)
It’s not a great sign that neither Gross-Matos nor Winters had their participation level upgraded. They were both non-participants all of Week 1. If they’re not at least limited by Thursday, it would be a strong sign they’ll both miss a second consecutive game.
Limited participation
LG Aaron Banks (finger, calf)
SS Talanoa Hufanga (knee)
WR Jauan Jennings (ankle)
RB Christian McCaffrey (calf, Achilles)
There aren’t any surprises here. Banks suffered a calf contusion in the season opener. Jennings’ ankle injury also happened against the Jets. Both were expected to be limited to open the week. Hufanga is still working back from a torn ACL. An upgrade for him at any point in the week would be a good sign that he’s trending toward making his season debut Sunday. McCaffrey may be limited all year as the team manages his Achilles tendinitis.
The 49ers and Vikings kick off at 10:00am on Friday from US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.