SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Fred Warner‘s comeback will have to wait at least another week.
Despite the linebacker’s refusal to rule out that he could be back from a fractured and dislocated right ankle as soon as Saturday night against the Seattle Seahawks, the San Francisco 49ers are sticking with the original plan to potentially activate him for the NFC Championship Game on Jan. 25 if they can advance.
Coach Kyle Shanahan has maintained all along that the Niners were targeting the NFL’s final four for any possible Warner comeback. On Thursday, after the 49ers wrapped up their final practice of the week, Shanahan announced that Warner will not come off injured reserve this week, but he said he was encouraged that the NFC title game timeline remains in play.
“We feel confident in that,” Shanahan said. “We’ll see if it works out.”
Warner offered at least some optimism Wednesday when asked whether his return might come as early as Saturday in Seattle. He said he was taking it “day by day” and pointed out that the 49ers opened his 21-day practice window this week even after initially saying they wouldn’t.
From there, Warner was his usual, energetic self on the practice field and participated on a limited basis for the second day in a row. But the 49ers dialed it back Thursday; Warner was on the field in shorts and a jersey but no helmet during the portion of practice open to media.
Warner was officially listed as a nonparticipant, with Shanahan saying that he did not have a setback and that he looked “good” in Wednesday’s practice.
Warner will travel with the team to Seattle.
His mere presence on the practice field offered an emotional shot in the arm for a team in need of one after losing tight end George Kittle for the season with a torn right Achilles suffered during the wild card round.
“The fact that Fred even has a jersey on less than 100 days after what happened to him, that just uplifts the team,” left tackle Trent Williams said. “Whether Fred takes the field in these playoffs or not, that’s motivation. Having him there, just having his face in this locker room, it’s motivation. It helps everybody.”
While Warner has pushed to return sooner than later, the Niners have maintained that he has other benchmarks to hit in order to be cleared, especially since Warner is only about three months removed from the surgery that followed his Oct. 12 injury against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Dr. Daniel Kaplan, an orthopedic sports surgeon at NYU’s Langone Orthopedic Hospital, said a three-month recovery is a normal timeline for someone to get back to practicing or participating in sports but not typically for games. For normal people, such a recovery would take about six months, but Kaplan said high-level athletes with the resources available to someone like Warner could be faster.
“Three months would certainly be on the early side but depending upon exactly what that fracture looked like, if it was really more of a dislocation and less about the bone, I think it’s possible,” Kaplan said.
For his part, Warner said he is aware of the risks, such as refracturing the bone, that come when he does return.
“Once I put that helmet on and put that shoulder pads on, I know what it is,” Warner said. “I know how to play this game. I know what I’m capable of.”
While Warner won’t be available Saturday night, the Niners are hoping to get some other key players back.
Receiver Ricky Pearsall (knee, ankle) and linebackers Dee Winters (ankle) and Luke Gifford (quad) are questionable to play. Pearsall and Winters were limited in practice all week with Gifford missing the first two days and limited Thursday. Pearsall missed the last meeting with Seattle in Week 18 and said Wednesday he expects to play, though he might have to be more cautious with running after the catch to mitigate aggravation of his right knee injury.
Shanahan said if Pearsall plays, they’d have to take precautions, though it wouldn’t be clearly defined by a number.
“We wouldn’t put him on a snap count, but I saw improvement,” Shanahan said. “He’s still battling it, so that’s why he’s still questionable. But we would never put a guy on an exact snap count, especially in a playoff game. But we also understand where he’s at and that would probably have to be different than his just true status of when he’s 100% healthy.”
Safety Ji’Ayir Brown (hamstring) is the only Niner who has been ruled out for Saturday’s game.