San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner says he has played through the pain of a broken ankle for the past nine weeks amid the team’s injury nightmare.
The Niners, who reached the Super Bowl last season, are enduring a miserable follow-up campaign following injuries to a host of key names, with quarterback Brock Purdy recently joining long-term absentees Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle on the sidelines.
And ahead of their Week 13 matchup with the in-form Buffalo Bills, Warner has revealed that he has persevered for Kyle Shanahan’s injury-plagued team despite suffering a bone in his ankle in Week 4 against the New England Patriots broken.
“It was a fracture when I sprained it,” he said Wednesday. “Any time you break a bone and keep playing on it, the bone usually won’t be able to heal itself. So I just have to keep fighting.”
Warner suffered the injury toward the end of the first half against the Patriots after recording seven tackles and an interception for a touchdown on just 27 snaps, meaning he did not return after halftime.
After being limited in practice for their next appearance against the Arizona Cardinals, he played in that game and finished with 12 tackles. The 28-year-old has been a full participant in training for every match since, despite the severity of his injury.
49ers linebacker Fred Warner says he has been playing with a broken ankle for nine weeks
Warner has been committed to the team since suffering the injury in Week 4
Warner added: “It’s something I deal with every game. I sit on that table before every game and make him hurry every game just so I can roll. But it’s no excuse. It just is what it is.
“That’s the NFL. You won’t be healthy. You have to go out there, find ways to perform, play at a high level and win every week.”
Warner, who is in his seventh season with San Francisco, further admitted that his broken ankle is unlikely to heal before the end of the season as he plans to continue to put up pain for the team.
“Anytime you break a bone and you just keep playing on it, the bone usually won’t be able to heal itself,” he said. “So we just have to keep fighting.”
Warner and the Niners’ next appearance in Buffalo is currently being watched by a winter storm, with snow and high winds set to hit Western New York.
According to the FOX Prediction CenterUp to a foot of snow could fall near the Bills’ Highmark Stadium, while “extreme cold” could also be present in the area.
The National Weather Service in Buffalo has also called for possible low visibility as snow on roads could impact travel.
Temperatures are predicted it will be well below freezing with wind chills, while wind speeds could exceed 20 mph.
There is currently no suggestion that Sunday’s match – which starts at 8.20pm – will be postponed, but the Bills are no strangers to the logistics of the matches being affected by the weather.