After weeks of pain, 49ers Fred Warner reveals the truth

The 2024 season has been defined by injuries for the San Francisco 49ers. Key players have struggled to stay healthy: Christian McCaffrey missed the start of the season, Brandon Aiyuk was sidelined midway through, and others, like linebacker Fred Warner, have opted to play through the pain. Warner recently disclosed that he’s been playing on a fractured ankle since Week 4, requiring injections before every game to manage the pain and avoid letting his teammates down.

Initially diagnosed with a sprain during a win against the New England Patriots, Warner later learned the true extent of his injury. Speaking to The Athletic, he revealed that the game also left him with a fracture. Despite the seriousness of the injury, Warner chose to persevere for the sake of the team’s defense.

“Every game, I have to deal with it,” Warner said. “I’m on that table before every game, getting injected so I can play. It’s not an excuse—it’s the NFL. You’re not going to be 100% healthy. It was a fracture when they called it a sprain. And anytime you play on a broken bone, it’s not going to heal. You just have to fight through it.”

Warner, a BYU alum, has been a standout despite his injury. He leads the league with four forced fumbles and has racked up an impressive stat line: 84 tackles, six passes defended, two interceptions, and a sack. Three of his tackles were for a loss, and one of his interceptions resulted in a touchdown.

Dre Greenlaw close to returning

The 49ers’ defense, already among the best in the league, could soon improve further with the return of linebacker Dre Greenlaw. Greenlaw has been on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list since rupturing his Achilles tendon during Super Bowl LVIII, but San Francisco has now opened his practice window, signaling a potential return.

Until now, the team has relied on De’Vondre Campbell and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles to fill Greenlaw’s role, while Dee Winters has also stepped up under the guidance of defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen.

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The article above was originally by Gustavo García, translated with the assistance of AI and edited by David Nelson.