49ers' Deebo Samuel doesn't have fracture in shoulder - ESPN

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers don't yet know whether they will have wide receiver Deebo Samuel for Sunday's NFC Championship Game. They do, however, know that there's at least a chance Samuel will play against the Detroit Lions.

Given that Samuel missed two games and the bye week with a microfracture in his left shoulder earlier this season, the Niners got some relatively good news about the injury he suffered Saturday night against the Green Bay Packers.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday afternoon that imaging did not show another break in Samuel's shoulder, which at least leaves the door open for him to return this week.

«It wasn't broken, so that was a real good sign,» Shanahan said. «But it's still hurting too much for us to really have an idea how he will heal up this week. So, we've just got to be patient, see how he feels on Wednesday, and based on if it's improving it will give us a better idea whether he has a chance for the game or not.»

Samuel suffered the injury with 5:35 left in the opening quarter of Saturday's NFC divisional round win. Samuel caught a pass from quarterback Brock Purdy over the middle and was battling for extra yards when multiple Packers converged on him.

After the play was blown dead, Samuel went down and let go of the ball as Niners medical staff surrounded him. He was initially evaluated for a concussion after a call from the spotters in the booth but was quickly cleared.

«It was the shoulder and only the shoulder, but I think it looked live like he possibly could have taken a hit in the head, so that was just people from upstairs,» Shanahan said.

Samuel briefly returned to the game before he jogged to San Francisco's locker room. He returned to the sideline and did not