A day after fans learned that Jimmie Ward had been named to the NFL Top 100 Players for the first time, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed that the safety is dealing with a significant hamstring injury. The setback has put his availability for the team's Week 1 showdown with the Chicago Bears in doubt.
"Yesterday, Jimmie Ward pulled his hamstring," Shanahan said. "A little worse than the other guys so he's going to be [out] some time."
Shanahan notes that the 49ers have several options to fill in for Ward, should he miss time. That includes Tarvarius Moore, George Odum, and others. The team might even add someone to the defensive backfield for some more depth with cornerback Dontae Johnson dealing with a rib injury.
Shanahan added: "It was a pretty bad hamstring injury, and it's not like the other two guys, so we'll see over the next couple of weeks how it plays out."
The coach also said that Mike McGlinchey, who was dealing with some knee irritation after the preseason win over the Green Bay Packers, is going to get treatment this week. He won't get any work in this week and the 49ers will re-evaluate the offensive tackle next week.