WATCH: 49ers star Deebo Samuel carted off field after painful leg injury

The San Francisco 49ers saw a painful and scary moment on the field as star receiver Deebo Samuel was carted off the field with injury. 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, and he remained on the field in pain for some time afterwards.

Deebo Samuel is down and slow to get up after the last play after what appears to be a knee injury. pic.twitter.com/uVPZJQ1VV6

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 11, 2022

Deebo Samuel carted off field with injury

As Samuel rolled around on the ground grabbing at his leg in obvious pain, replay showed the moment the injury occurred as his ankle and leg were bent awkwardly beneath a tackler as another defender hit his leg from the front during the play.

An emotional Deebo Samuel was carted off the field 💔

(via @NFLonFOX)pic.twitter.com/Wd3R3hl90v

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 11, 2022

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 tackle that resulted immediately caused him some form of pain, as replay showed him drop the football from the feeling.

Luckily, after the game it appeared that Samuel had dodged an extreme outcome as a result of his injury with his ankle not being broken. Although the exact diagnosis will take further evaluation tomorrow, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan indicated that the injury was “most likely” a high ankle sprain.

“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.”