News broke on Monday that the San Francisco 49ers will be without their starting quarterback for an extended period of time. Jimmy Garoppolo left Sunday's game against the Seahawks in the third quarter with an ankle injury and did not finish the contest.
Garoppolo was already working his way back from a high-ankle sprain suffered in Week 2, where the quarterback was forced to miss two games. The initial timeline for return was estimated to be between 4-6 weeks, however, the quarterback played a half in Week 5 before being pulled from the lineup due to the lingering effects of his ankle.
After undergoing additional testing on Monday, it was determined the quarterback suffered a completely new, and worse sprain than the initial injury suffered earlier in the season.
"He essentially had a whole new one, just on the same foot," Kyle Shanahan revealed on Tuesday. "When you have those high ankle sprains, you re-injure them a lot. But it was a different way that he did it, so it's basically doing it all over again in a different way. It's usually four to six weeks with those high ankle sprains, it is worse than the last one."
Given the severity of Garoppolo's injury, the 49ers have not ruled out the option of corrective surgery. The team is currently consulting various opinions for the best option for the quarterback going forward. If a procedure is required, Garoppolo is likely to miss the remainder of the 49ers 2020 campaign.
"We're just getting different doctors' opinions now," Shanahan continued. "Whatever is best for him long term is obviously, what we will decide on. But if he does need a surgery, then it will be all year. If not, then we're hoping six weeks and we get a chance to get him back in the end."
Nick Mullens, who replaced Garoppolo in the fourth quarter against the Seahawks, will get the start on Thursday night against the Green Bay Packers. Mullens finished the Week 8 contest completing 18-of-25 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns for a 128.4 quarterback rating.
