49ers likely without Kittle, Samuel, McCaffrey vs. Rams - ESPN

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers are likely to be without three of their best offensive players and could be missing two of their best defenders on Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.

After missing practice on Thursday and Friday, tight end George Kittle (hamstring) is officially listed as doubtful for Sunday. If Kittle does not play against the Rams, he would join running back Christian McCaffrey (calf/Achilles tendinitis) and receiver Deebo Samuel (calf) as key offensive options ruled out.

On the other side of the ball, defensive end Nick Bosa and cornerback Charvarius Ward, two of the Niners' top defenders, are listed as questionable. Coach Kyle Shanahan said Bosa suffered a rib injury during a one-on-one period Thursday and was limited in that practice and again on Friday.

Ward also missed Thursday's practice with hamstring and knee soreness, but he participated in Friday's practice on a limited basis. Kittle and Ward were surprise additions to the injury report on Thursday after practicing in full on Wednesday.

"[Kittle] and Charvarius, they were sore after practice [Wednesday], like a number of guys are," Shanahan said. «They came in Thursday morning and were still sore. And still today with Kittle. That's the severity of it.»

In better injury news for the Niners, safety Talanoa Hufanga has been cleared to return after recovering from a torn ACL in his right knee. Hufanga was listed as doubtful in the first two weeks as he worked his way back into the mix but has no designation against the Rams and is good to go.

Shanahan said Hufanga is prepared for the game, and how much he plays will be based on how things go series by series. That means George Odum and/or Malik Mustapha could get some work