Fred Warner was carted off the field in the first quarter of the 49ers’ 30-19 loss Sunday in Tampa Bay to the Buccaneers with a serious ankle injury.
Coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed after the game that Warner had fractured and dislocated his right ankle and will need surgery, likely ending his season.
“Everyone on our team feels for Fred,” Shanahan said of the team’s mood. “But that’s football. You saw how emotional everyone was when they saw him down, on both sides.”
Christian McCaffrey repeatedly called Warner’s injury “heartbreaking” during the 49ers’ postgame news conference.
Warner was in the 49ers’ locker room and spoke to the team after the game.
The injury came with 7:48 left on a 10-yard run by Rachaad White. Warner was twisted awkwardly to the degree that the CBS broadcast showed the injury just once because of its gruesome nature. He left with an air cast on a cart and was officially ruled out of the game. Tatum Bethune came on to take Warner’s place as he was carted to the locker room.
Warner had already made his presence felt early, blowing up a screen pass for a 2-yard loss on Tampa Bay’s initial possession.
The 49ers trailed 7-3 at the time, with the Bucs converting an early Mac Jones interception into a short-field score by White on a 2-yard run.
Warner has been one of the 49ers’ most durable players, playing in 16 or 17 games in each of his first seven seasons. He played 13 games last season with a chip fracture in his ankle and was playing at an elite level this season.
A serious injury leaves the 49ers without Warner and Nick Bosa, out for the season with a torn ACL.
Warner played all 17 games for the 49ers last year amid a lost season, including 13 games after fracturing his ankle.
The 49ers have been hit hard by injuries this season, as fellow captains Bosa, Brock Purdy (turf toe, week-to-week) and George Kittle (hamstring, week-to-week) have missed multiple games.
