Niners QB Jimmy Garoppolo On Whether Shoulder Or Thumb Hurts Worse: 'Yes'

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was asked Tuesday whether his thumb or his shoulder hurt worse, and his answer? "Yes."

Garoppolo went into Sunday’s game with a torn ligament in his right thumb and left the game with a slight sprain of his throwing shoulder.

He first injured his thumb on his throwing hand in the second quarter of the Niners' loss to the Tennessee Titans and injured his shoulder in the win over Dallas while trying to protect his thumb as he hit the ground.

“Got thrown down, went to put my hand out, and sort of had it in my head if my thumb hit I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Garoppolo said. “So, yeah, tried to catch it with my elbow a little bit and just jammed the shoulder up. Yeah, that was about it.”

Garoppolo completed 5-of-11 passes for 39 yards with an interception in the second half, but the 49ers held on for a 23-17 victory.

“If you’re a quarterback, it affects every throw,” Garoppolo said. “It definitely had some impact, but if I’m out there and being put in that spot, I’ve still got to make the plays that I normally make. No excuses or anything like that. The injury is what it is. We’re all dealing with stuff now.”

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Garoppolo would be limited practice but that he expects the QB to start Saturday against the Packers.

The San Francisco 49ers (11-7) will travel to face the Green Bay Packers (13-4) on Saturday with kickoff set for 5:15 p.m. PST.


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