49ers place four on injured list. Only one is expected to miss regular-season games
49ers running back Jerick McKinnon (ACL recovery), center Weston Richburg (knee/quad surgery), defensive back Jimmie Ward (broken collar bone) and tight end Garrett Celek (back surgery) will begin camp on the physically unable to perform list that prohibits them from practicing until getting cleared by the medical staff.
General manager John Lynch said the only player in danger of missing time during the regular season is Celek, who had a procedure on his back this offseason and is expected to be placed on the regular season PUP list, which prohibits him from playing during the first six weeks of the season. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that San Francisco has its bye Week 4, so Celek would only miss five games.
The other three players are expected to be cleared at some point over the next month, while Richburg’s return is being targeted ahead of Week 1, Lynch said. Richburg had his surgery soon after the regular season after sustaining the injury Week 4 against the Los Angeles Chargers. He missed just one of the remaining 12 games, though he wasn’t nearly as effective as the 49ers would have hoped after signing him to a five-year, $47.5 million contract the previous spring.
San Francisco added veteran Ben Garland and Wesley Johnson in the offseason to add depth at center. The team on Thursday waived Erik Magnuson, who started the one game in place of Richburg last season, while he dealt with a calf injury that prevented him from practicing in the spring.
McKinnon, who tore his ACL a week before the 2018 season opener, suffered an apparent setback with his knee just over a week before reporting for camp. Lynch is optimistic about getting him back on the practice field in the coming weeks, though an exact time frame was not specified.
“(He) had a little flareup with his knee. We’re managing that the proper way,” Lynch said. “We feel like the best course of action is to put him on PUP. We expect him back soon into camp.”
The 49ers dealt with several injuries to running backs throughout last season and added a possible starter through free agency in Tevin Coleman. Backup Matt Breida sat out the offseason program with a partially torn pectoral, but is expected to be healthy for the start of training camp, as is Raheem Mostert following a fractured forearm in November.
This story was originally published July 26, 2019 at 3:24 PM.
