Fantasy Football Week 3 Injury Report: Frank Gore Injury Paves Way for Backup

Pay attention, Frank Gore fantasy owners.

The San Francisco 49ers' featured running back injured his ankle in the second quarter of the 13-8 win over the Cincinnati Bengals and his status for Week 4 is up in the air despite Gore staying in the game.

Judging by his comments after the win, it sounds like the injury really bugged him for the rest of the afternoon:

"I kind of tweaked it and I couldn't go the way I wanted to. Yeah, I couldn't be myself. Some of the runs, I couldn't make the cut I wanted to make. Hopefully, I get better this week," Gore said after Sunday's game.

Can't disagree with him. His cuts weren't sharp and the speed was non-existent.

His backup, Kendall Hunter, was the featured back on the game-winning drive and he even picked up the touchdown. He looked much faster and quicker than Gore and showed no hesitation as he hit the hole.

The rookie out of Oklahoma State looks poised to have an increased role in the run-heavy offense as they attempt to keep Gore healthy—not a bad idea considering he signed a giant contract extension right before the season started.

If you own Gore, picking up Hunter this week would be a great idea. They play the vaunted Eagles secondary next week and you can bet the game plan will be to keep the ball out of QB Alex Smith's hands as much as possible. That means there are going to be a ton of opportunities for whoever starts.

Don't wait to get the official word on Gore; pick up Hunter now and plan on having the best waiver wire move of the week.