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The San Francisco 49ers are back at the facility for practice, and Jimmie Ward was on hand to chat with the media. He was placed on injured reserve due to a foot injury, and on Tuesday he was able to provide some details about what happened.
I'll post the media tweets below, but basically, he bent the screw in his foot that was handling last year's Jones fracture. The replacement procedure required ten weeks of recovery time, and since happened Week 10, it made sense to shut him down for the rest of the season. He said he expects to be ready in time for the offseason workout program.
Jimmie Ward says he bent a screw from Jones fracture in right foot. It was replaced. It requires a 10-week recovery time since Saints game.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) December 16, 2014
#49ers top pick Jimmie Ward said he had bone marrow drained from hip to help right foot he re-broke (Jones fracture). Excited for 2015
— Cam Inman (@CamInman) December 16, 2014
Foot injuries are always tough to figure out for defensive backs and wide receivers given the importance of footwork. Until he shows he can get through a season healthy, it is reasonable to be concerned about his foot. If it was only a ten week recovery period, that would seem to have him in good shape when the offseason program begins in late April. He was limited in what he could do in the program this past offseason due to that initial Jones fracture. This offseason will be huge for him given that he will hopefully be a full, or close to full participant leading up to training camp.
Ward showed some promise after a tough couple of weeks, and he will have plenty of opportunities in 2015. He had a comment with regard to some of those struggles:
Jimmie Ward when asked who his toughest opponent was this year: "Brandon Marshall. That's all I'm gonna say. Brandon Marshall." #Bears
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) December 16, 2014