Frank Gore Injury: Updates on 49ers RB's Ribs

San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore had X-rays taken after sustaining bruised ribs during the team’s Thursday night victory over the Seattle Seahawks. The results came back negative, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.

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49ers RB Frank Gore was sore. But X-rays on ribs were negative, and he dished it out to the Seahawks, too. bit.ly/S1IqpK

— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) October 19, 2012"

UPDATE: Monday, October 29 at 8:00 p.m. ET by Darin Pike

As expected, Gore will be starting for the 49ers.

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Gore, Staley to start; Jacobs not active: Joe Staley will be blocking for Frank Gore Monday night in ... bit.ly/W01lHN #49ersTalk

— CSN 49ers News (@CSN49ers) October 29, 2012"

---End of Update---

UPDATE: Monday, October 29 at 7:15 p.m. ET by Darin Pike

While there is still no official word on Gore's status, he has arrived with the team at University of Phoenix Stadium. He was seen warming up on the sidelines with a medicine ball and appears ready to take on the Arizona Cardinals.

He will likely share more carries than normal tonight depending on the flow of the game.

---End of Update---

UPDATE: Saturday, October 27 at 8:15 p.m. ET by Richard Langford

It is going to take a little more than sore ribs to keep Gore off the field.

The running back made it through a full week of practice, and as CSN Bay Area reports, the talented back is "expected to start" this Monday night as the 49ers travel to play a key division game against the Arizona Cardinals. 

UPDATE: Monday, October 22 at 1:15 p.m. ET by Timothy Rapp

Good news for 49ers fans—Gore doesn't believe his bruised ribs should be an issue, and he should be good to go against the Arizona Cardinals this week. 

From Cam Inman of the Contra Costa Times:

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Running back frank Gore insisted Friday his bruised ribs will be "all right" after playing Thursday night through the most pain of his 109-game career.

"The X-ray was looking good, and I'll take it one day at a time," Gore said.

Aiding Gore's recovery will be an extended break until the 49ers' next game, which will be Oct.29 at the Arizona Cardinals on "Monday Night Football. 

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While the Cardinals present a tough matchup, fantasy owners should pencil Gore into their RB2 or flex spots as usual this week.

---End of Update---

Gore said the injury was cumulative due to the pounding he sustained throughout his impressive 182  (131 rushing, 51 receiving) yards-from-scrimmage performance. However, the rib injury that prompted the X-rays occurred much earlier in the game.

"I kind of got speared, hit in the back on a check down back in the second quarter," Gore said, according to Maiocco. "It was a good hit, good play by Seattle."

Gore, who became the first rusher to exceed 100 yards against the vaunted Seahawks defense this season, sat out the final series of the game because of the injury.

While it may have been a precautionary move to sit Gore, the pain must have been excruciating to prompt Jim Harbaugh to elect to turn to Kendall Hunter during crunch time in place of his star back.

Despite those concerns, Gore defended Harbaugh’s decision and seems optimistic about recovering quickly from the bruising he took Thursday night:

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I'll be all right. Coach just wanted to be smart. We've got a long season and a tough road down the stretch. We've got another division game. We wanted to be smart. We have other great backs, Kendall Hunter, Brandon Jacobs, Anthony Dixon who does positive things to help our team. He just wanted to be smart and I just listened to him.

"

The next matchup for the 49ers will be a Monday night contest against divisional rival Arizona.

The Cardinals also pose a challenge in the running game, but Gore and his teammates will have 10 days to rest and improve upon the impressive performance they delivered against the second-ranked Seahawks rush defense.

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Mike Hoag Jr. is a Breaking News Team writer with Bleacher Report and also covers the NFL and the Cleveland Browns for the site.