All-Pros George Kittle and Fred Warner each scored touchdowns for the San Francisco 49ers in their Week 4 win over the New England Patriots.
But the Niners’ latest injury report suggests they are each trending towards missing the Week 5 clash with the Arizona Cardinals.
Tight end Kittle and linebacker Warner missed practice for the second successive day. Kittle is dealing with a rib injury while Warner suffered an ankle injury against New England that forced him to miss the entire second half.
Kittle and Warner were seen doing conditioning work in pads during the portion of practice open to the media.
Asked by KNBR about the playing status of Kittle and Warner, head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Thursday: “Still not sure yet. They haven’t been good enough to go today, which is never fun.
“They’re two guys who, if they don’t practice, can definitely play on Sunday. So hopefully they’ll get there.”
In other words, Kittle and Warner will be given every chance to play, and their absences from practice could be related to the 49ers wanting to manage their workload with a short week coming in Week 6 against the Seattle Seahawks.
Still, it is a concern that neither was able to take part in the penultimate practice of the week, and the 49ers have other worries away from that pair.
The biggest issue outside of Kittle and Warner is related to defensive lineman Yetur Gross-Matos, who played a key role last week with his ability to rush the pass off the edge and from the interior in the wake of defensive tackle Javon Hargrave’s season-ending injury.
Gross-Matos missed practice for the second straight day and, if his knee injury keeps him out, that will rob the 49ers of some much-needed flexibility up front. Should he fail to recover in time, look for Sam Okuayinonu’s snap count to increase following another strong outing in Week 4.
