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Week 11 Injury Report: 49ers, Giants Both Dealing With Multiple Injuries

By Jerrell Richardson

Last week, the 49ers saw just two of their players, Dan Skuta and Patrick Willis sit out due to injuries. This week at a first glance, the team does not seem to be as lucky as they have 10 players listed on this week’s report, and just received the news that Patrick Willis’ toe will force him to miss the rest of the season. However, a closer look reveals that they are still relatively healthy as a whole and should not see injuries negatively affect their performance this week against the Giants. New York might be thin at the running back position, and have seen injuries earlier this season decimate their roster, but have no new injuries that they need to suddenly game plan for.

The biggest, and most harmful news injury wise is the fact that Willis is now out for the season. The star middle linebacker though has missed the past few games with this injury, and while it was deemed not serious, it became obvious that it was more serious than first reported and this is not a complete shock. In his absence though the defense has held up just fine, and while he will be missed, as a unit the defense can still be elite.

What does slightly complicate matters is that Willis ‘replacement, Chris Borland, was limited earlier this week with a sore shoulder. There is no reason for panic though as he was later upgraded and will be playing. Borland’s shoulder is an injury to keep an eye on moving forward, but that’s it for now.

San Francisco’s return man, Bruce Ellington, will most likely be in street clothes, but he has been less than impressive in his rookie campaign. Like with Patrick Willis, the 49ers have played without Ellington and aren’t losing too much with Perrish Cox and Carlos Hyde filling in.

Safety Jimmie Ward has a bad foot, Ian Williams is dealing with a leg injury and Tramaine Brock’s hamstring forced all 3 players to sit out of practice this week. All figure to be game time decisions but are not going to have an impact if not on the field, and will only limit the 49ers depth if unable to suit up.

San Francisco 49ers

Did Not Participate In Practice:

CB Tramaine Brock (hamstring), WR Bruce Ellington (ankle), S Jimmie Ward (foot), DT Ian Williams (fibula).

Limited In Practice:

DE Ray McDonald (knee), LB Dan Skuta (ankle).

Full Participation In Practice:

S Eric Reid (ankle).

New York Giants

Did Not Participate In Practice:

RB Peyton Hillis (concussion), DT Cullen Jenkins (calf), DE Mathias Kiwanuka (knee), LB Jacquian Williams (concussion).

Limited In Practice:

S Nat Berhe (ankle), TE Daniel Fells (neck), RB Rashad Jennings (knee), DE Damontre Moore (shoulder).

Several Game Time Decisions

While there are not a lot of big names left on their roster, the Giants still have no playmakers on their injury report. Concussions will make linebacker Jacquian Williams and Peyton Hillis availability not known until kickoff, and both Cullen Jenkins and Mathias Kiwanuka could miss this game, but this is not a big deal. Hillis is 3rd on the depth chart, and the Giants defense has not played well this season, so even without a few starters, New York, defensively figures to be their usual bad selves come Sunday, as they can’t get really worse.

The home team will hope that their top back, Rashad Jennings who missed last week will be able to go, but he is still a question mark. Rookie Andre Williams has done a respectable job as the team’s workhorse, but the offense will benefit if they can use both of their best two backs this week against a stout 49er defense. Jennings figures to be dressed, but he is not 100%, and will be a position to keep an eye on.

For more 49ers news and updates, visit 49ers Central.

Jerrell Richardson is a Bay Area native who due to a college career at San Diego State University has grown an appreciation for all things sports related in California. His heart will always remain in San Francisco though where he currently resides and covers everything from the San Francisco 49ers and Giants to the San Jose Sharks and California Bears Baseball team. Jerrell is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com.

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