Reuben Foster has bruised, not broken ribs, per report

The San Francisco 49ers suffered several notable injuries on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys, but they might have avoided something bad with Reuben Foster. The rookie linebacker suffered a rib injury, and NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport said on KNBR this morning he is hearing it is a bruise not a break (h/t 49ers Webzone).

This is not exactly shocking news given what we heard Sunday afternoon. After the game, Kyle Shanahan said that Foster had been cleared by the medical staff late in the fourth quarter to return to the game. Since the game was well out of hand at that point, the 49ers opted to keep him out.

When a player suffers an injury that could be some kind of fracture, an x-ray is usually one of the first things that happens when they go back to the locker room. Unlike an MRI, you can get an x-ray fairly quickly. If the 49ers medical staff cleared him to play, one would imagine that means they saw no break in the x-ray.

Rapoport said there will likely be some additional tests this week. Foster said he was feeling sore, and will see how he feels today. The 49ers return to practice on Wednesday, at which point we’ll start to get an idea of what the injury could mean for this Sunday. My guess is he will be limited or a DNP on Wednesday. The Thursday practice report might tell us the most.