Talanoa Hufanga has managed to make a pair of appearances this season for the 49ers, but his next game action will come after a notable absence. The All-Pro safety is dealing with ligament damage in his wrist, head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Tuesday, per Matt Barrows of The Athletic.
As a result, Hufanga is facing an absence of roughly one month. A stint on injured reserve would ensure at least a four-game absence, making that a consideration in this case. Shanahan added that the team has yet to decide if an IR stint will be in store.
In either case, Tuesday’s news is unwelcomed given Hufanga’s importance to the 49ers’ secondary and his missed time from last year. The 25-year-old suffered a torn ACL in November, limiting him to 10 regular-season games and sidelining him for San Francisco’s run to the Super Bowl. Hufanga was activated from the PUP list at the end of the summer, though, making him eligible to play within the first four weeks of the campaign upon returning to practice.
The former fifth-rounder made his season debut in Week 3 before missing the following contest. Hufanga then suffered his latest injury early in Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals — a game which dropped the 49ers’ record to 2-3. Rebounding from that poor start will be challenging as the team deals with several key absences on defense.
In other injury news, Shanahan said that kicker Jake Moody — who is dealing with a high ankle sprain — is facing a similar recovery timeline, per Matt Barrows of The Athletic. He too could land on IR, something which would result in an extended audition period for the team’s new kicker. Matthew Wright is now in place as Moody’s replacement, having agreed to a practice squad deal earlier on Tuesday.
The 49ers designated defensive tackle Kalia Davis for return from IR before the roster cutdown deadline. That move used one of their eight activations for the year (although Davis has not yet been brought back into the fold) with running back Christian McCaffrey, cornerback Ambry Thomas and Jon Feliciano still on injured reserve. First-round rookie wideout Ricky Pearsall remains on the reserve/NFI list for now; all four members of that group will use up an activation once they are healthy.
The 49ers must therefore be careful with IR designations moving forward, but one or both of Hufanga and Moody could be shelved for four games soon.
