The Carolina Panthers have quite a tall task ahead of them, particularly on offense. And, unfortunately, they won’t have the help of one of their newest weapons to ease that burden.
As expected, wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr.—who told reporters on Thursday that he expects to miss the next few games—has been ruled out for Week 5’s matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. The third-year pass catcher is currently dealing with injuries to both of his hamstrings, a pair of setbacks that led to his early exit from last Sunday’s 26-16 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Carolina may also be without linebacker Frankie Luvu and safety Xavier Woods, who have both been designated as questionable for the contest. Considering the impact Luvu has made thus far as well as the importance of Woods in the absence of Jeremy Chinn, who was placed on injured reserve earlier this week, being without either defender would be a considerable hit to take for the Panthers.
Head coach Matt Rhule did, however, say on Friday that he expects both men to be in uniform.
Here’s the Week 5 injury report in full:
| Injury | Wed. | Thurs. | Fri. | Game status | |
| LB Frankie Luvu | Shoulder | Limited | DNP | Limited | Questionable |
| DE Marquis Haynes Sr. | Knee | Limited | Full | Full | Questionable |
| CB Stantley Thomas-Oliver III | Thigh | DNP | DNP | DNP | Out |
| S Xavier Woods | Hamstring | DNP | DNP | DNP | Questionable |
| WR Laviska Shenault Jr. | Hamstring | DNP | DNP | DNP | Out |
| LB Shaq Thompson | Knee | Limited | Full | Full | – |
| TE Stephen Sullivan | Back | Full | DNP | DNP | Out |
