The 49ers lost running Elijah Mitchell early in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the Saints. They initially listed him as ‘questionable’ with a knee injury before downgrading him to ‘out.’
Buy 49ers TicketsHead coach Kyle Shanahan after the game said the team thinks Mitchell sprained his MCL. Mitchell already missed seven games after spraining an MCL in the season opener. This injury is to his other knee, and is believed to be less severe. There’s no timetable for his return if he is going to miss time.
This is the second consecutive season Mitchell has dealt with injury issues. He missed six games during his rookie campaign with various ailments.
Mitchell was having another effective game before his injury. He carried seven times for 35 yards and had a long touchdown run called back because of a hold. This season Mitchell has carried 40 times for 224 yards with no touchdowns.
San Francisco can tread water without Mitchell, but their offense will need him if it wants to reach its peak come postseason time.
