The San Francisco 49ers feared a torn ACL to starting left guard Laken Tomlinson. The team received some good news on Monday morning.
Tomlinson went down during the second quarter of the 48-32 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams. General manager John Lynch told reporters on Monday that Tomlinson's ACL is intact and he suffered a torn MCL with an estimated recovery time of three months.
That's much better than an ACL tear, which could have required a recovery time of seven to nine months. That would have put a potential return around late July to late September.
The MCL tear means Tomlinson can perhaps return to work in early April. The injury will not require surgery.
The 49ers acquired Tomlinson via a trade with the Detroit Lions on August 31, 2017. He missed the season opener of that season but has started each game over the past two seasons since then.
"Laken has been great all year," Shanahan told reporters after Sunday's game. "We got him a week before the season, our first year here. He didn't start our first game, and then he started all 15 games after that. He's gotten better each week.
"He came in this offseason, took a huge step forward. He stayed healthy for us all year. He's been a very good player and hoping for good news on [the injury]. But if not, I know he'll do his rehab and ready sometime next year. He's a huge part of what we do."
Tomlinson is signed through the 2021 season. He was initially going to be a free agent in March, but the 49ers signed him to a three-year extension on June 22, 2018.