Brandon Aiyuk Returns to 49ers Practice on Thursday, Deebo Samuel does not

One injured 49ers wide receiver returned to practice Thursday, but it wasn’t Deebo Samuel.

It was rookie Brandon Aiyuk.

Aiyuk suffered a mild hamstring strain during practice on August 23. The 49ers initially feared the injury was serious, but learned it was the mildest form of hamstring strain there is.

Aiyuk returning to practice on Thursday means there’s a good chance he will play Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals -- he might even start. Which would be great news for the 49ers, because Aiyuk was their best wide receiver in training camp before he pulled his hamstring.

Thursday is the last real practice of the week for the 49ers. On Friday, they do a walkthrough. So Aiyuk probably needed to practice Thursday to get in a full practice before the first game of his career.

I’m guessing Aiyuk will be the starting X-receiver Week 1 if he doesn’t suffer a setback after Thursday’s practice.

And I’m guessing Deebo Samuel will not play against the Cardinals.

Sure, he conceivably could play without practicing -- he’s a second-year player and he’s a good one. So he doesn’t need much preparation.

But if he isn’t healthy enough to at least stretch and warm up and run routes and catch passes during practice on Thursday, how will he be healthy enough to do those things and take hits and play an entire game on Sunday? Seems unlikely.

Remember, Samuel suffered a Jones fracture in his foot on June 18. Meaning he hasn’t done any football activities the past three months. So even if his foot is healthy, he probably won’t be in football shape by this Sunday.

The 49ers will release their game-status report on Friday. Stay tuned.

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