San Francisco reveals Deebo Samuel injury 'most likely' high ankle sprain

After Deebo Samuel needed to be carted off the field on Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers revealed the extent of his ankle injury. Samuel appears to have dodged an extreme outcome as a result of his injury, with his ankle not being broken after getting pinned awkwardly under a defender. Although the exact diagnosis will take further evaluation tomorrow, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan indicated that the injury was “most likely” a high ankle sprain.

Deebo Samuel ankle injury not expected to be serious

“Kyle Shanahan says Deebo Samuel has a left ankle injury,” explained ESPN’s Jeff Darlington. “He said ‘we’re not sure’ the extent but it’s ‘most likely’ a high ankle sprain. It is not broken, he said.”

The news is a big relief to 49ers fans who saw the scary scene on the field as Samuel was carted off after being surrounded by his teammates supporting him. Samuel was visibly upset and the outlook looked bleak as he left the field. Luckily, the injury may not keep him from seeing the field in the playoffs this season depending on his recovery.

Samuel was tackled awkwardly on a run up the middle of the field, eventually having his left leg pinned between two defenders. The pain immediately caused Samuel to fumble the football on the play, and he remained on the field in pain for some time afterwards.

It was not immediately clear what the extent of the injury was, although it didn’t take long for trainers to bring an injury cart on the field to take Samuel into the locker rooms. As they prepared to take Samuel off the field, several teammates consoled him as the star receiver was visibly upset by the injury.

The play that injured Samuel was a normal one by NFL standards, making the unfortunate accident all the tougher to see as his teammates surrounded him. Samuel was given a handoff on a run to the left before cutting back into the heart of the defense to gain yards. The play drew criticism from fans in frustration as they questioned why Samuel was being used as a running back in a play designed to run through the defense.