49ers DE and No. 2 overall pick Nick Bosa will miss preseason with high ankle sprain
It’s way too early to consider defensive end Nick Bosa injury-prone, but his injury history is getting longer.
Bosa, the No. 2 overall pick of this year’s draft, left practice on Wednesday with an injury and initial reports indicated it wasn’t serious. But San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch told KNBR (via Matt Barrows of The Athletic) that Bosa actually has a high ankle sprain.
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High ankle sprains are generally more serious than low ankle sprains and can knock a player out for multiple weeks. Even when the player can return to action, the injury can linger. Bosa’s status for Week 1 of the regular season is uncertain.
UPDATE: Lynch said Bosa will miss the entire preseason.
#49ers GM John Lynch on @knbr said Nick Bosa sustained an ankle sprain that will knock him out for the exhibition season, at least. “We won’t see in the preseason and we’ll go from there. … We’ll get him right and he’ll be a great player for a long time in this league."
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) August 8, 2019
Nick Bosa has an injury history
Bosa’s final season at Ohio State was defined by injuries.
Bosa suffered a bilateral core muscle injury in Ohio State’s third game, and had surgery. He wouldn’t play for the Buckeyes again. Bosa was criticized, as some thought he was protecting his draft stock, but that ignores the severity of Bosa’s injury.
Nevertheless, Bosa is coming off a season in which he played two-and-a-half games, his last one on Sept. 15, and he will be on the shelf for all of August at least. If Bosa’s injury lasts a couple weeks into the regular season, he’ll go a full year without playing in a football game.
In 49ers minicamps after the draft, Bosa missed time with a strained hamstring. That turned out to be minor and he was back by training camp, but it’s adding up.
Bosa uncertain for Week 1
The big question for Bosa is whether he can be ready for Week 1 of the regular season. Lynch didn’t know the answer.
“A lot will be told today and in the coming weeks with how he’s responding,” Lynch told KNBR, via 49ers team reporter Keiana Martin. “We want him right. We are going to do what’s in the best interest. We’ll see where that goes.”
The 49ers aren’t going to risk Bosa’s long-term future to rush him back on the field by the first game this season. But it’s not a great situation for one of the biggest rookies entering the NFL this season.
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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
