Sherman injury may last all season
Jimmy Garoppolo’s torn ACL has diverted attention from another significant injury for the 49ers: Richard Sherman’s strained left calf.
The three-time All-Pro cornerback is expected to miss multiple games with an injury that likely is connected to his offseason surgery to remove bone spurs near his left Achilles tendon. And his lower-leg issues could linger throughout the season.
At least that’s the opinion of Dr. Ken Jung, a Los Angelesbased foot and ankle surgeon who is a consultant to five professional teams, including the Lakers and Dodgers. Jung works at Cedars-Sinai KerlanJobe Institute.
“It’s all connected,” Jung
said of Sherman’s calf injury. “The Achilles connects the calf muscle to the heel bone . ... It’s all in a chain.”
Sherman, who remained in a walking boot Thursday, exited late in the second quarter of a 38-27 loss in Kansas City on Sunday. He was sidelined three days after he missed practice with what the 49ers termed a heel injury, although they did not specify which heel was ailing Sherman.
Jung said it’s not uncommon for patients who have bone spurs removed to develop heel pain. The surgery involves elevating the Achilles away from the heel bone, where the spurs are located. The area can become aggravated post-surgery where the Achilles heals back to the bone. In addition, calf tightness is not uncommon after surgery is performed.
“If the (heel) was causing him problems, there are times when a tight calf muscle is present with individuals that have had heel spurs, as well,” Jung said. “So if that area was flared up on him, or was tight, he may have just further exacerbated it Sunday.”
Sherman, 30, signed an incentive-heavy contract with the 49ers in March after his procedure on his left Achilles was preceded by surgery on his right Achilles, which he tore in November.
Last week, a day after Sherman missed practice, head coach Kyle Shanahan said his heel injury was a matter of “wear and tear.” He added that Sherman’s practice schedule would be tweaked to help him deal with the issue.
“I’d like to give him some time off, anyway,” Shanahan said. “He’s going through some stuff, as he will probably be all year.”
However, Sherman said Thursday his calf injury was not connected to his offseason surgery. Sherman had played every defensive snap this season before he was sidelined Sunday with 1:32 left in the second quarter.
“It just makes it an easy story for you guys,” Sherman said. “It makes it lazy reporting. It’s just me not playing in eight months and getting back out there. Going through the trials and tribulations of a season and the wear and tear of football. And taking all these reps after not taking them for eight months. My body has to get used to doing it again.”
Whatever the case, Sherman acknowledged he wouldn’t play Sunday against the Chargers, although he didn’t rule out returning when the 49ers host the Cardinals on Oct. 7.
That could be optimistic, but defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said Sherman has an “unbelievable pain tolerance.” Saleh, who spent three seasons (2011-13) with Sherman in Seattle, noted Sherman has played with a torn hamstring.
It wasn’t clear if Saleh meant the torn hamstring Sherman sustained in the 2017 season opener against the Packers. Sherman didn’t miss a snap in that game. And he played in Seattle’s first nine games last season until his right Achilles, which had been ailing him in training camp, finally tore in early November.
“You find a way to manipulate your body,” Sherman said of playing with a torn hamstring. “... You’ve got to stop thinking about it. It makes your other muscle and stuff compensate and you’re going to be sore as hell after the game. But when you’re a ballplayer, you just figure out a way. If I can walk, I can run. If I can still get down the field, then I think I can do my job.”
Given their injury issues in the secondary, the 49ers might welcome Sherman back at far less than 100 percent.
Strong safety Jaquiski Tartt (shoulder) hasn’t practiced this week after missing Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs, and free safety Adrian Colbert’s status is up in the air after he exited in the second quarter in Kansas City. Without Sherman, the 49ers’ cornerbacks will be Jimmie Ward and Ahkello Witherspoon, who was benched last week before Sherman’s injury necessitated his return to the field.
On Sunday, the 49ers’ banged-up back end will face Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers, 36, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection who has shown no signs of slowing. This season, Rivers has thrown eight touchdowns and one interception. Through Monday, he ranked fifth in passer rating (115.7) and seventh in yards per game (302).
Whenever Sherman returns, he might have to manage some discomfort, Jung said. And given Sherman’s medical file, he probably has plenty of experience doing just that.
“It may be something that they have to manage through the rest of the year,” Jung said. “Obviously, if he’s had a history of spurs prior to this, it’s something that he’s dealt with. Bone spurs don’t just form overnight. They take time to develop and are usually an indication of some sort of chronic condition.
“A couple of weeks may allow things to settle down — symptom-wise and pain-wise — to get him comfortable enough to get back out there and play.”