When the San Francisco 49ers opened Fred Warner’s practice window, head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Tuesday the hope was Warner could “be ready for next week,” should the Niners advance past the Divisional Round.
The four-time All-Pro inside linebacker isn’t ruling out being ready sooner, such as for Saturday night’s playoff showdown against the host Seattle Seahawks, however.
“We’re taking it day by day,” Warner told reporters Wednesday, via ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. “I think they said last week they weren't going to open my window, and then my window is now open. So yeah, we're just taking it day by day."
Warner, regarded by many as the game’s best off-ball backer, suffered a dislocated and broken ankle in the 49ers’ Week 6 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that was expected to sideline him for the duration of San Francisco’s season. Before the New Year arrived on the calendar, though, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported Warner was ahead of schedule, making an appearance in the NFC Championship game a possibility, though unlikely.
Following surgery, Warner became a fixture at 49ers home games, often seen on the field with a knee scooter or in a suite with his leg propped up.
Warner has been designated as limited in Tuesday and Wednesday's sessions.
"Everything up to this point has been in direct communication with the doctors, the trainers, everybody involved with my surgery," Warner said. "Nothing up to this point has been done just out of just, 'Hey man, let's just go out and do it.' ... Everything is scientifically based, right? So anytime you step out there on a football field ... that's what this game is, a violent game. But at the same time, I'm not going to go out there and put myself at an added risk if I'm not ready."
Considering how devastating his injury was, Warner is feeling remarkably well.
"I feel amazing," he said. "Just so grateful, blessed to be back. I think obviously when all this happened, I didn't really think about the possibility of returning in season, but the way things progressed and being able to have this opportunity to be back with my teammates and have a chance at helping them win this week and so on and so forth, that's my only goal going forward."
At this point, Warner’s presence on the practice field has already been a boon for the 49ers.
“Just pure energy,” Niners defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said, via team transcript. “Fred's the ultimate energy giver, so just having him out there is awesome. Yesterday was a little bit more tempo down, but today obviously with higher tempo it'll be fun to get him out there and see him running around.”
Warner was, of course, active for the 49ers’ season opener against the Seahawks, which San Francisco won, 17-13, with the four-time Pro Bowler providing eight tackles.
While Warner’s status will remain in question perhaps until kickoff Saturday evening, even that won’t deliver the answer of how game-ready he would be. For now, as he mentioned, it’s just one day at a time.