The San Francisco 49ers were probably a bit worried after the number of injuries the team sustained during Sunday's loss against the Los Angeles Chargers. General manager John Lynch, who joined KNBR on Thursday night, sounded somewhat optimistic with the team just a few days away from its division matchup against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium this weekend.
The 49ers released their practice participation report on Thursday, as they do after every scheduled practice. The summary is a good indication of where injured players are in terms of their recovery. A number of the players who did not practice on Wednesday were on the field for Thursday's session.
"If you're looking for good news with our injury situation, I think we're in a much better place than we might have anticipated after Sunday's game," Lynch said on the "Tolbert & Lund" show. "I think a lot of the scans came out better than we anticipated. We've got a lot of tough guys who want to be there for their teammates.
"As of today, Joe Staley was to the side, but we're hopeful. He's going to give it a shot tomorrow. Marquise Goodwin was off to the side but is ramping up his work. And a bunch of other guys including (Richard) Sherman, (Mike) McGlinchey got in there, limited today. Mike Person (too)."
The news on Staley trying to practice on Friday is good because the 49ers were down three starting offensive linemen, including Staley, during Wednesday's session. Right tackle Mike McGlinchey and center Weston Richburg were the others who were held out on Wednesday.
"(Dante) Pettis is going to be out (against the Cardinals)," Lynch continued. "He'll miss this game, and we'll see how long he goes, but I think we're in a much better place in terms of the injuries.
"Weston Richburg was back out there on a limited basis today, so we're starting to get some guys back and that's good because there really is, both in terms of quality of play and one thing with the roster size, injuries to a lot of guys lead to other injuries because those guys are asked to do more. It's just a dirty truth about this league, and it's vicious.
"When guys start going down, it's tough on everybody else, but that's the way it is, and we've got to find a way to get some guys back and stay there, and need some good fortune."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.
