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The San Francisco 49ers had their final full practice of the week on Friday, and running back Marcus Lattimore did not participate. Someone asked Jim Harbaugh about it, and he said he "hung back in the training room" for the day. He would not go into more detail.
A day later, Matt Maiocco is reporting Lattimore was dealing with soreness in his right knee, and a source told him Lattimore's status is "up in the air" at this point. There are no details other than that, so we'll just have to wait and see. It's disappointing to hear about potential setbacks for Lattimore, but hopefully it is something that just needs a little rest.
Lattimore joined practice this past Wednesday, opening up his 21-day practice window. That means that the Wednesday after the 49ers face the New York Giants, the team will have to make a decision whether to activate Lattimore to the 53-man roster, or place him on injured reserve to end his season. If the soreness does not clear up, it could mean the end of Lattimore's season before it really begins. They could also elect to add him to the 53-man roster, and take it week to week from there.
Given Lattimore's knee history, it is easy to be pessimistic about the situation. However, I would have to hope Lattimore is able to remain positive about his situation. He spoke with the media earlier this week, and someone asked him about the mental preparations:
Q: What have you done mentally to prepare for this?
LATTIMORE: Talk to people. Don't keep it in when you're having those bad days, because I had a lot of bad days when my knee was sore. I had to do a lot of different things. Talked to my girlfriend. Talked to my mom. Talked to my sister. Just let them know, that was the biggest thing. And of course my faith.
Given that Lattimore was strictly rehabbing prior to this past Wednesday, he likely had plenty of days where his knee was sore. It is possible bad news could come from this, but hopefully it is just one more part of the process that he can get past sooner rather than later.