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The San Francisco 49ers took care of business in the first round of the 2021 NFL playoffs. The team outlasted a late charge by the Dallas Cowboys and moved on with a 23-17 victory. The team paid a high price, though, with the squad’s two biggest defensive stars picking up injuries. The question is now, what are the Fred Warner and Nick Bosa injury updates?

The San Francisco 49ers got major scares from two of their biggest stars on Sunday 

Fred Warner and Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers during the third quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field on November 21, 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida. 49ers fans got a good Fred Warner injury update on Monday and await more on the Nick Bosa injury update.
Fred Warner and Nick Bosa | Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images.

Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, tight end George Kittle, and wide receive-a-back Deebo Samuel (along with “offensive genius” head coach Kyle Shanahan) get most of the press for the San Francisco 49ers. 

However, the team’s two best players might be on defense. 

Third-year sensation Nick Bosa is already a two-time Pro Bowl pass-rusher and led the team in sacks this year with 15.5. In addition to that lofty number (which ranked fourth in the NFL), Bosa also tallied 53 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 32 QB hits, and four forced fumbles. 

One of the reasons Bosa is free to attack quarterbacks is because linebacker Fred Warner is playing behind him. 

Warner, the fifth-year All-Pro from BYU, lead the team in tackles with 137 (T-11 in NFL). This season, he also added a forced fumble and three fumble recoveries to the ninth-ranked scoring defense.  

Both players contributed to the 49ers’ win, but both exited the game early with injuries. Bosa had three tackles and a half-sack before catching a hip to his head from teammate D.J. Jones in the second quarter. The edge rusher didn’t return to the game with a concussion. 

Warner racked up five tackles before leaving the game in the fourth quarter. He rolled his ankle while attempting to cover Ezekiel Elliott, aggravating an existing injury.  

Now heading into the biggest game of the season against the best team in the NFC — the Green Bay Packers — 49ers fans will be Googling two major queries this week: “What is the Nick Bosa injury update” and “what is the Fred Warner injury update?”

Fred Warner sounds like he’ll be back

The Fred Warner injury update came directly from the player on Monday after the San Francisco 49ers’ big win. 

The linebacker apologized for giving fans a “scare,” thanked them for the support, and delivered the five key words that every Niners fan wanted to see: “We’ll be good to go.”

While those five words don’t unequivocally confirm that Warner will be back in the starting lineup to face the Green Bay Packers on Saturday, other sources have given positive Warner injury updates. 

ESPN 49ers reporter Nick Wagoner tweeted, “LB Fred Warner has a low ankle sprain. They’ll see where he is tomorrow but … Warner [has a] good chance to play this week.”

That is good news for 49er fans who are also hoping for a good Nick Bosa injury update soon as well. 

The Nick Bosa injury update sounds promising but is less certain

The Nick Bosa injury update isn’t quite as cut and dry as the Fred Warner injury update. Although, the news we do have is positive overall. 

The reason for the apprehension on the Bosa injury is that there is no definitive recovery time for a concussion. Every player responds differently, and Boas will have to be fully recovered and able to pass the NFL concussion protocol tests to get on the field at Lambeau on Saturday. 

NFL insider Ian Rapoport summed up the situation Monday on Good Morning Football:

Every player is different, and the way they recover from a concussion is different. So, despite the fact that you had some players saying, “Bosa was OK in the locker room, he sounded good,” we do not know how he is going to come back. We don’t know how he’s going to feel today. Of course, he has to be cleared by an independent neurologist before he can play. 

Head injuries are always tricky, but what little news Rapoport hears out of the 49ers’ locker room is positive. So that could be a good sign.

Even though he has one less day to recover playing on Saturday after a Sunday game, you have to think the fearsome pass-rusher will be out there in Wisconsin next weekend. 

Keep an eye on the Nick Bosa injury updates throughout the week, though, for more info. 

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference

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Tim Crean

Tim Crean started writing about sports in 2016 and joined Sportscasting in 2021. He excels with his versatile coverage of the NFL and soccer landscape, as well as his expertise breaking down sports media, which stems from his many years downloading podcasts before they were even cool and countless hours spent listening to Mike & The Mad Dog and The Dan Patrick Show, among other programs.

As a longtime self-professed sports junkie who even played DII lacrosse at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, Tim loves reading about all the latest sports news every day and considers it a dream to write about sports professionally. He’s a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan from Western New York who mistakenly thought, back in the early ’90s, that his team would be in the Super Bowl every year. He started following European soccer — with a Manchester City focus — in the early 2000s after spending far too much time playing FIFA.

When he’s not enjoying a round of golf or coaching youth soccer and flag football, Tim likes reading the work of Bill Simmons, Tony Kornheiser, Chuck Klosterman, and Tom Wolfe.