49ers Injury News: Trent Williams Still a Injured Reserve Candidate; Arik Armstead Misses Practice

Trent Williams doesn't require surgery on his ankle injury, but the 49er still could be placed on Injured Reserve. Arik Armstead is still dealing with a bothersome foot injury.

It wouldn't be the 49ers without some highly anticipated injury news.

Trent Williams, who suffered a high ankle sprain in the Week 3 loss to Denver, is still a candidate for Injured Reserve. The swelling on his ankle is still there, so clarity on him being placed on it is still up in the air. Colton McKivitz is expected to fill in for Williams while he is out.

"We're still hoping he doesn't have to go on I.R. (Injured Reserve)," said Kyle Shanahan. "He won't need surgery or anything like that, but still not sure with the high ankle sprain."

Not needing surgery is huge news for Williams and the 49ers. It indicates that the severity of his injury isn't on red alert, but he will still take quite some time to heal up before returning to the starting lineup. Last year when Williams suffered a similar ankle injury towards the end of the season, he revealed that it might've been best that he just sat out for more games to allow his ankle to heal. Perhaps he takes his own advice and slowplays his recovery until he is absolutely fit.

As for Arik Armstead, he is dealing with a foot injury (plantar fascia), which is keeping him out of Thursday's practice. This injury forced Armstead to miss the game against the Broncos, but Shanahan likes where his recovery is trending right now.

"It is improving. He was real close to going. We thought he did good in that workout before the game, but we held him back and it's still the same as it was on gameday, so hopefully it'll be good by Monday," said Shanahan.

Armstead missing out against the Rams stings, but isn't the end of the world. The 49ers defense played phenomenally against the Broncos offense without him. Overcoming his absence is well within their power. The absence that isn't within the 49ers' power is with Williams. McKivitz filling in is a major drop off. He's going to be tested to the extreme against the Rams as they have the tenth best pass rush win-rate in the league per ESPN.

The 49ers get a bit of reinforcement with their offensive line as Daniel Brunskill has returned to practice in a limited capacity.