The San Francisco 49ers are 4-2 despite playing with a shorthanded roster for most of the season. In addition to defensive end Nick Bosa being out for the season with a torn ACL, the defense suffered another big blow in Week 6 when linebacker Fred Warner sustained a dislocated and fractured right ankle in the 49ers’ 30-19 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The All-Pro linebacker had to have surgery to repair the ankle on Tuesday. He’s expected to be placed on injured reserve while he recovers.
Per the 49ers Webzone, Warner’s wife, Sydney Warner, shared an update on the surgery.
Via 49ers Webzone:
“Fred Warner's wife, Sydney, shared an update on the #49ers linebacker after what appears to be a successful ankle surgery. Her caption: "doing so good.”
San Francisco is expected to be without Warner for the remainder of the regular season. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said this week that he expects Warner to return at least by offseason workouts, believing the recovery time to be approximately three months.
“I think, usually, things like this are around three months,” Shanahan said, “but I haven’t asked all the questions you guys are asking me yet. But I assume he’ll be good for the offseason workouts and stuff like that.”
Shanahan didn’t outright rule out Warner from returning in the postseason, as the three-month recovery time would overlap with the NFC playoffs and Super Bowl. However, Shanahan said he did not expect Warner to return to the field again “this year.”
Warner is the 49ers leading tackler through the first six games with 51 total tackles. He recorded two tackles for loss, three passes defensed and two forced fumbles.
With Warner out, the 49ers are set to start second-year linebacker Tatum Bethune. Bethune, a 2024 seventh-round pick, has recorded 14 total tackles this season.
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