San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan joined KNBR on Friday morning and provided several injury updates ahead of Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons.
Tight end George Kittle is dealing with some soreness after a hefty workload in Week 14 against the Cincinnati Bengals. He is expected to play this weekend and next Thursday against the Tennessee Titans.
"He's sore. They're all pretty sore," Shanahan said on the Murph & Mac show. "But he'll be good for Sunday, and then he'll be sore all the way to Thursday. And then he'll knock out Thursday. The good thing about [playing on a short week] is that we'll have a little mini-Bye at the end of this."
This week, linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair has not practiced yet after suffering an elbow sprain against the Bengals.
"We're still waiting for that elbow to recover," Shanahan said. "Hopefully, the swelling stuff will go down. That gives him a chance to play. Azeez, if he can protect himself, he's got a chance to play. We know he will. Azeez is as tough as it gets.
"He's been through some of these elbows. He did that in college. He did the other one earlier this year. So, we've just got to see how it reacts, and we'll give him all the way up to kickoff. He hasn't gotten there yet but [he's] still got a couple more days."
Running back Elijah Mitchell remains in the concussion protocol after missing Sunday's game in Cincinnati.
"He hasn't been able to practice yet," Shanahan said. "And it's not just the concussion. It's also the knee. He's getting close to getting out of the protocol, but he's got the knee also, so we'll see how he's feeling today. Elijah's also a guy who's earned it to where I'm not going to rule him out just because he didn't practice. So, we'll give him a chance.
"But it's also that game is coming close here on Thursday too. Hopefully, he'll be ready for this one. If not, I'm really hoping he'll be ready for Thursday."
Cornerback Dontae Johnson has been away from the team after the passing of his mother. Shanahan expects him to return on Friday, which could make him available for this weekend's game.
"He was supposed to get in last night, so I think he's going to be here today," Shanahan said. "And if he is, he's going to be out at practice, and we plan on him playing."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Shanahan below.
