Veteran 49ers left tackle Trent Williams walked off the Empower Field at Mile High turf under his own power Sunday night after suffering a high ankle sprain in the game’s third quarter.
And while his team ultimately ended up losing to the Denver Broncos 11-10, the night could have ended up much worse for San Francisco regarding Williams’ injury.
The offensive lineman won’t need surgery, coach Kyle Shanahan said Monday -- something that can be common for high ankle sprains according to Stanford Medicine’s Dr. David Oji.
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“A high ankle sprain is essentially ligaments just above where you would typically think of an ankle sprain,” Oji told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Jennifer Lee Chan. “So when you think of an ankle sprain or the low ankle ligaments, this was actually above that. It’s commonly more of a rotational injury, just like a low ankle sprain, but it’s a little more severe.
“We take it a lot more seriously because if it is unstable, it does require surgery in many instances. Luckily, we’re in this situation. It sounds like it’s stable since he doesn’t require surgery.”
Williams was injured in the third quarter of Sunday night’s game when Broncos defensive end Dre’Monte Jones landed awkwardly on the San Francisco tackle’s lower body, sending him to the locker room.
Shanahan told reporters after the game that a high ankle sprain was “likely.” After confirming the news on Monday, he said Williams could be out four to six weeks and still is experiencing significant swelling.
San Francisco 49ers
A severe high ankle sprain, like the one New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones reportedly suffered Sunday, can require a substantially longer rehabilitation period since surgery usually is required.
“Most commonly, surgery for a high ankle sprain involved using a device called a suture button,” Oji said. “It essentially squeezes the two bones in the ankle called the fibula and the tibia together … to put it in the anatomical position, and then the body typically will heal in the proper position.
“So even after the surgery, it does take a little bit of time for the body to heal the ligaments.”
High ankle sprains are an injury the 49ers Faithful have become all too familiar with over the years, with running back Raheem Mostert and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo both dealing with the ailment during the 2020 campaign, and rookie Ty Davis-Price sidelined by one this season.
Williams also injured his same right ankle last season during the 49ers’ divisional round playoff win over the Green Bay Packers, then played through the injury as San Francisco lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game.
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Oji wasn’t able to comment on whether or not Williams’ previous ankle injury contributed to the high sprain suffered Sunday, but there’s a possibility it could be a problem moving forward, making the need for a steady rehabilitation process all the more important.
“In athletes that have had similar injuries with multiple, kind of, high ankle sprains, each one could lead to a little more instability,” Oji told Chan. “And without the proper rehab, sometimes you can be more prone to another injury in the future.
“... Luckily, the [49ers’] trainers and the therapists are very good, and as long as he feels strong and all the other muscle groups are doing well, I think he’ll probably do very well.”