San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner shared on Wednesday that he has been playing with a broken bone in his ankle since September.
Warner explained that the injury happened in the first half of San Francisco’s victory over the New England Patriots in Week 4. He sat out the second half of that game and was listed on the injury report for the following two weeks, but he did not miss any games.
“It’s something I deal with every game,” Warner said. “I get on that table before the game and get it shot up every single game just to be able to roll. But it’s not an excuse. It’s just what it is. That’s the NFL. You’re not going to be healthy. You’ve got to go out there, you’ve got to find ways to execute, to play at a high level and to win every single week.”
Since the injury, Warner’s performance has dropped. In his first four games, he had two interceptions — one of which he returned for a touchdown — three forced fumbles, one sack, and four passes defensed.
In his last seven games, however, he has not recorded any interceptions or sacks, with only two passes defensed and one forced fumble.
Warner has also missed nine of his 11 tackles since the injury, including four last week against Green Bay, according to Pro Football Focus. He has also struggled with coverage, allowing 31 catches on 31 targets in his last seven games. In his first four games, he gave up just four catches on 14 targets.
Warner, a three-time All-Pro, has never missed a game since entering the NFL in 2018. Despite the injury, he has no plans to sit out any games.
“Any time you fracture a bone, if you just continue to play on it, the bone is usually not going to be able to heal itself,” he said. “Just got to continue to just fight through.”
