Promising 49ers rookie will miss at least a month after Week 1 injury - Niners Wire
The San Francisco 49ers may have beaten the Los Angeles Rams 27-7 in their season opener at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday, but they suffered a significant loss to their wide receiver corps.
During the first half of his NFL debut, second-round pick De'Zhaun Stribling left the game briefly with an injury and returned before re-injuring his ankle, which resulted in the training staff carting him back to the locker room.
While 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed that Stribling's Achilles was fine after the game, there were still concerns about the ankle. Now, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport is reporting that the wideout has a deltoid sprain in his ankle that will keep him out for at least a month.
Stribling is reportedly still seeking opinions and could have surgery to repair it if necessary.
The 23-year-old had a strong performance in training camp and continued that trend during the preseason, as he hauled in 11 passes for 109 yards in just two games.
If Stribling is sidelined for the next month or so, the 49ers will have to ride Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, Demarcus Robinson, Jacob Cowing and Jordan Watkins. They also have KhaDarel Hodge, Will Pauling and Wesley Grimes on the practice squad, and they could get Christian Kirk back from injured reserve after Week 4.
