Trent Williams noticeably limped to the sideline midway through Saturday’s Divisional Round win against the Green Bay Packers. When he returned the next series, the left tackle had his right ankle taped for the remainder of the game.
With much speculation following the worrisome injury, head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed some semi-encouraging news on Monday. Fortunately, Williams’ X-rays came back negative. However, the extent of his injury has yet to be determined.
Similar to Jordan Willis, who suffered an ankle injury in the 49ers Wild Card win over the Dallas Cowboys, the defensive lineman re-aggravated an old ankle sprain, however, was able to return to the field and make a game-changing play on special teams.
The 49ers are holding out hope that it is a similar scenario for the All-Pro left tackle and will continue to monitor him throughout the week.
“That’s why just like Jordan, you can’t designate it as either one (new or old injury),” Shanahan said on Monday. “You’ve got to see how the week goes. Whether it heals. If it was a high (ankle sprain), I’d rule him out. But there are more components to it which makes it not as easy as Jeff Wilson Jr.’s, which was like Jordan’s last week. So, you just kind of wait 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.
Williams missed San Francisco’s Week 18 contest against the Los Angeles Rams after suffering an elbow injury the week prior. Second-year offensive lineman Colton McKivitz stepped up admirably in his absence.
Speaking of Wilson Jr., the running back left Saturday’s game shortly after kickoff. Per the head coach, he suffered an ankle injury, however, “has a chance” to return to the field this week.
Deebo Samuel took a helmet to the side of his knee/leg on the last offensive play that set up Robbie Gould’s game-winning field goal. He returned to the team’s facility sore on Monday, however, the 49ers “expect to see him” return to the field in advance of Sunday’s NFC title game.
Finally, the 49ers were without Ambry Thomas on Saturday after the rookie corner landed on the injury report with a knee injury. Despite being a limited participant in practice leading up to Saturday’s Divisional Round contest, Thomas “wasn’t as close” to returning as the team anticipated when they arrived in Green Bay.
Per Shanahan, the team is optimistic he’ll be able to return to practice when the team begins preparations for the Rams on Wednesday.
“We know he’s doing better today compared to how he was on Saturday. And I think he has a much better chance of playing this week,” Shanahan said. “But hopefully he’s ready for practice on Wednesday.”
