Reuben Foster Not Expected to Miss Time After Suffering Shoulder Injury

Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee reported Thursday that San Francisco 49ers rookie linebacker Reuben Foster was diagnosed with a mild AC joint sprain in his shoulder.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said he expects Foster to play in preseason against the Denver Broncos on Saturday, per Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area.

Barrows added that the injury is to the same shoulder Foster was nursing leading up to the NFL draft, and that he will be limited in practice Thursday.

The 49ers selected Foster with the No. 31 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft, although many expected him to be taken within the first 10 picks.

One of the issues was his injury history, most notably a shoulder issue that reportedly didn't improve with surgery. Even with the injury, Shanahan thought it was a smart value pick.

"The worst-case scenario, he wouldn't end up being able to play for us right away," Shanahan said on KNBR Radio, via Barrows. But I still don’t think that would have changed how I personally felt about taking a guy with the 31st pick with the caliber of player that we took."

However, it appears the injury problems have returned.

While there are question marks about Foster's ability to stay on the field, there is little doubt about his ability when healthy. The former Alabama star was an All-American in college and the Dick Butkus award winner as the best linebacker in the country.

San Francisco will now just hope these skills can translate to the NFL on a long-term basis.

NaVorro Bowman will remain the leader in the linebacker corps, but Ahmad Brooks and Ray-Ray Armstrong will need to step up if Foster misses a significant amount of time.