Trey Lance's Finger Injury 'Trending in the Right Direction,' 49ers' John Lynch Says

Trey Lance's fractured finger in his throwing hand is "trending in the right direction," San Francisco 49ers' general manager John Lynch told reporters on Wednesday. 

"Some of the swelling's coming down. Monday is kind of the optimistic look at it, and I can promise you this: We'll do right by Trey and have him in a good place before he's back out there," he said. "But we certainly would love to have him available on Monday. ... He does everything he can to get well, and he's working hard at that right now."

The rookie quarterback suffered the injury during Sunday's 34-10 preseason win over the Las Vegas Raiders, hitting the helmet of linebacker Max Richardson. The initial expectation was that Lance would be out of action for around a week. 

"It wasn't bothering him much because he thought it was jammed on that helmet," head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters earlier this week. "And when you get all the images on it, they showed it to me, it's a micro-chip of a bone that's off. He chipped it, which is a small-chip fracture, which is worse than a jam."

While Shanahan has yet to name a starter, it's a safe bet that Lance missing practice time in the lead-up to the team's Sept. 12 opener against the Detroit Lions means that Jimmy Garoppolo will get the start. 

The No. 3 overall pick in this year's draft threw for 276 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in three preseason games, completing just 46.3 percent of his passes while taking six sacks. He also rushed for 16 yards and a score. 

It's possible that Lance could see some time in certain packages designed for his run-pass versatility. If Garoppolo remains the starter throughout the season, Lance could still occasionally see the field in this capacity.

Nonetheless, there's no question that the Niners drafted him to eventually be the face of the franchise. The only question remaining is just how soon Lance will take over the starting quarterback duties.