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The depth of the 49ers’ back was hit when Jeff Wilson Jr. fell in OTAs with a torn meniscus. It took another heavy blow in Week 1 when Raheem Mostert left the game with a knee injury after just four snaps. San Francisco is down to just three running backs in week two, but reinforcements are expected to arrive by the middle of the season.
Mostert’s knee injury will require surgery to repair some damaged cartilage. He will be out for at least eight weeks, which would put him back in line by week 10 or so. Head coach Kyle Shanahan also indicated on Monday that Wilson was on track for an even earlier return than that.
“Since Jeff had his injury and how it’s been, he’s definitely on schedule to come back,” Shanahan said. “I think we were saying like between weeks 6 and 8, I just haven’t asked for a while. But he looked great here, training, preparing, and I know he will help us at some point this year.
Wilson’s initial prognosis in June was four to six months. He is on the list of athletes physically unable to play, so he will have to miss the first six weeks regardless of his health. He will therefore be able to return at the earliest to week 7 which falls on October 24 – just at the four-month mark for Wilson. . A six-month schedule would not have put him back on the field until the end of December where he could not have contributed as much.
Bringing Wilson back for half the year or more would be a significant boost for an inexperienced 49ers backfield. Rookie Trey Sermon was inactive for the first game. Rookie Elijah Mitchell has only one game under his belt, and undrafted RB JaMycal Hasty have only played nine games.
Despite being a capable trio that Shanahan has expressed confidence in, Wilson looked like an aspiring star last season on his first expanded opportunity. He led the 49ers with 600 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. He also had three touchdowns in the air.
Wilson’s return on fresh legs in the middle of the year, followed shortly by the return of Mostert, would give the 49ers a chance to start hitting their cap in time for a playoff push.
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