Mostert is back at practice but offensive line hurting

The 49ers’ offense will be without quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Deebo Samuel on Sunday, and their interior offensive line might be a mess.

But it appears they will have starting running back Raheem Mostert when they visit the Cowboys.

On Thursday, three days after he had an MRI exam on his troublesome ankle and a day after he sat out practice, Mostert returned to practice on a limited basis.

Mostert has played in three games since missing four games with a high ankle sprain and has acknowledged his injury isn’t fully healed. He’s averaged 3.8 yards on 39 carries since his return, a season after leading NFL running backs in yards per attempt ( 5.6).

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday that Mostert came out of last Sunday’s loss to Washington in more discomfort than usual.

“He zinged it a couple of times in the game, which is going to happen to him a lot, but it felt just a little worse than normal,” Shanahan said Wednesday. “We feel pretty good that he'll be able to ( play) at the end of the week. So it’s, I think, hurt a little bit more than usual, but the imaging was somewhat positive.”

Meanwhile, it’s not clear who will be blocking for Mostert.

Center Daniel Brunskill was limited for a second straight day with a sprained shoulder, and his backup, Hroniss Grasu ( knee), remained sidelined.

The 49ers will be without their top two right guards, Tom Compton ( concussion), who is on injured reserve, and Colton McKivitz, who is on the reserve/ COVID19 list. Tony Bergstrom, 34, is expected to start against the Cowboys.

Informal talks: Pro Bowl fullback Kyle Juszczyk, one of the team’s prominent pending free agents, said he’s had discussions with Shanahan about potentially returning next season.

“Kyle and I have had informal discussion here and there,” Juszczyk said.

“But nothing that’s been formally put on the table yet.”

Juszczyk, 29, who signed a fouryear, $ 21 million deal in 2017, is the NFL’s highestpaid fullback.

Sidelined: Running back Austin Walter became the third member of the organization to be placed on the reserve/ COVID19 list since Sunday.

Walter joined McKivitz and offensive line coach John Benton.