Kyle Shanahan Says Javon Kinlaw's Knee Injury "Hasn't Healed Quite Right"
Javon Kinlaw's knee injury is worse than the 49ers originally let on.
Kinlaw missed Week 1 with a knee injury, and did not practice Wednesday with the team. When asked about the severity of the injury, here's what head coach Kyle Shanahan said:
"We're not sure, that's why we're trying to take it slow with him. When we have, it has gotten better. We have to see how that continues to react. We'll be easy with him today. Hopefully if it continues to go well today, he'll get out there more tomorrow. When he hurt his knee in Dallas last year, it was a pretty bad injury that he ended up going on I.R. for. He got it cleaned up, but it hasn't healed quite as right as we want. There have been some days when it has seemed like it, but when he has gone, it has started to affect him. Hopefully taking it easy these last 10 days or so, it will start to get better. We'll see how it goes day to day."
Shanahan shared two critical pieces of new information:
1. The surgery hasn't been successful yet.
2. "It was a pretty bad injury."
This is the first time anyone in the organization has referred to Kinlaw's knee injury as pretty bad. When it initially happened last season, general manager John Lynch downplayed it:
"It's just some inflammation in the knee," Lynch said. "I think what happened to Javon, if you take back to the Dallas game, it's actually the play when he stripped Andy Dalton. He's a big man. He came down really hard on his knee and it was a bone bruise, really, is what happened. Just the force of hitting the turf. Felt like we had a chance to get him back that week. The swelling just remained and it was stubborn. Good news at the end of this week, it started to come out, but he had been out of practice so long. It didn't make sense to put him in the last game. So, that's the deal on Javon."
So the 49ers originally thought it was a bone bruise and Kinlaw might return the next week.
Nine months later, he still isn't healthy.
Good grief.
The 49ers need Kinlaw healthy A.S.A.P. Without him, their Wide 9 defense will give up tons up rushing yards.
