49ers’ Ahkello Witherspoon suffers knee injury early in Week 15 vs. Seahawks

The San Francisco 49ers were bit by the injury bug early in Week 15 with the Seattle Seahawks in town, losing cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon to a knee injury just before the halfway mark of the first quarter.

With the Seahawks driving, Witherspoon attempted a tackle on running back Chris Carson at the 49ers' 5-yard line and went down awkwardly just out of bounds. Trainers came over to tend to him, eventually helping him up and walking him to the locker room.

Witherspoon has been listed as questionable to return, although it seems much more on the doubtful side given the look of his knee injury.

Update: Witherspoon has been ruled out and will not return to the game.

Three plays later, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson targeted Witherspoon's replacement, defensive back Tarvarius Moore, who surrendered a 5-yard touchdown to wide receiver Doug Baldwin to put Seattle up 6-0.

Kicker Sebastian Janikowski subsequently missed the Seahawks' extra-point attempt, and the 49ers were able to take over the lead on the following kickoff, with kick returner Richie James bringing it back 97 yards for a touchdown:

Stay tuned for updates on Witherspoon, as the Niners still have that 7-6 first-quarter lead.