Injuries starting to take their toll on 49ers

SANTA CLARA - For the players, first comes excitement and adrenaline. Then that stuff wears off after three or four days of training camp, and the injuries hit.

The 49ers already have suffered a big one. Starting defensive linemen Arik Armstead pulled his hamstring on Sunday, and the injury is “somewhat” serious, according to 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan. Armstead did not practice Tuesday. The 49ers don’t list him as day-to-day. They list him as week-?to-week.

“Might be a little bit longer since it’s his hamstring,” Shanahan said.

If Armstead sits out a month, he will miss the entire preseason, which ends Aug. 30, when the 49ers play the Los Angeles Chargers. If Armstead misses longer than a month, he could miss the regular-season opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 9.

Armstead has missed ?18 games the past two seasons. He missed 10 games in 2017 with a broken hand. And in 2016, he separated his shoulder during training camp, played through the injury for eight weeks and finished the season on the injured reserve list.

The 49ers drafted Armstead with the 17th pick in the 2015 draft. On April 30, the 49ers picked up the fifth-year option in his rookie contract, which will pay him more than $9 million in 2019. Quite a bit of money for an injury-prone defensive lineman who has only six sacks in his career.

The 49ers already have other injured players:

Guard Joshua Garnett banged his left knee during Saturday’s practice and hasn’t played since. He stood on the sideline Tuesday and watched with a protective sleeve on his left knee. The 49ers list him as day-to-day, which means the injury probably isn’t serious.

Garnett injured the same knee last season during training camp, and that injury required surgery. Garnett missed the entire season. The 49ers drafted Garnett with the 28th pick in the 2016 draft, and he has started only 11 games during his career.

Backup tight end Cole Hikutini also suffered an injury on Saturday. He pulled his groin and is week-to-week.

Backup cornerback/safety/linebacker Jimmie Ward left practice early Tuesday with an unknown injury. “Jimmie had some tightness in one-one-one drills,” Shanahan said. “So, right after one-on-ones we pulled him out.”

Last year, Ward pulled his hamstring during his conditioning test and missed training camp and the entire preseason. He returned for Week 2 of the regular season, played eight games, started none, broke his arm and finished the year on I.R. He will be a free agent in 2019.

Backup linebacker Brock Coyle also felt tightness and left Tuesday’s practice early. “We watched him in individual drills and didn’t want him to go,” Shanahan said. “We thought it’d be risky.”

Coyle started 10 games last season at middle linebacker, and is expected to start there again while Reuben Foster serves a two-game suspension to start the regular season.

Second-year defensive lineman Solomon Thomas suffered a foot injury Tuesday when a player stepped on him. “I was told he came back in and finished so I don’t think it was too big of a deal,” Shanahan said. “But, I’ll see when I get in with (head athletic trainer Jeff Ferguson) Ferg.”

Thomas said his foot felt fine after practice. “Got nicked up. It happens playing in the trenches. But, I’m all good. Just had to take a couple plays off and move it around.”

Finally, second-year linebacker Foster injured his thigh on Tuesday. He missed six games last season with a high-ankle sprain, and was banged up frequently during the 10 games he did play.

“Today his quad was bothering him a little bit, charley horses and stuff,” Shanahan said. “Some guys get banged in their quads a lot, but nothing too concerning. That’s why he was able to practice and do all of that. I think everyone is going a little bit through the wear and tear of camp.”

On Tuesday, they completed their fifth day of training camp.

MORE INJURY NEWS

The 49ers activated three players from the physically unable to perform list: guard Jonathan Cooper, wide receiver Trent Taylor and linebacker Dekoda Watson.

Cooper (knee) and Taylor (back) each missed all of minicamp and OTAs. Watson (calf) suffered his injury during minicamp.

The 49ers also activated two players from the non-football injury list: Linebacker Malcom Smith, who injured his lower leg a week before training camp. And rookie safety Marcell Harris, who tore his Achilles last season at the University of Florida.

“Malcolm was the only guy that really got in there (and practiced with the team),” Shanahan said of the activated players after Tuesday’s practice. “Everyone else did (only) individual drills. Got to see a little bit of all of them. For the most part, it looked good. But, that was just the starting point for some of them. We’ll keep doing individual every day for them and, once we think they’re looking good in that, then we’ll start easing them into team stuff.”