SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers star linebacker Fred Warner revealed Wednesday that he has been playing through a broken bone in his ankle since September.
Warner said the injury happened in the first half of San Francisco’s win in Week 4 against the New England Patriots. Warner sat out the second half of that game and was on the injury report for the next two weeks but didn’t miss any time.
“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.”
Warner’s play has shown a drop-off since he got hurt. He had two interceptions —including one returned for a TD before he got hurt against New England — three forced fumbles, one sack and four passes defensed in his first four games.
He has no interceptions or sacks, with just two passes defensed and one forced fumble in his past seven games.
Warner has also had nine of his 11 missed tackles since getting hurt, including four last week against Green Bay, according to Pro Football Focus and has struggled on coverage.
Warner has allowed 31 catches on 31 targets the past seven games, according to PFF, after giving up just four catches on 14 targets the first four games.
Warner is a three-time All-Pro and has never missed a game since entering the NFL in 2018. He has no plans to miss any time, even if the injury is not getting any better.
“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.”
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