San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was shot in the chest on August 31 during an attempted robbery. Just two days later, he returned to the team's facility. The 49ers placed Pearsall on the non-football injury (NFI) list, giving the first-year player time to recover both physically and mentally from the traumatic incident.
On Friday, head coach Kyle Shanahan provided an update on Pearsall while speaking to reporters after practice.
"I was just talking to him yesterday," Shanahan said. "He just started working out again. I think it was a weight room workout yesterday. But yeah, he's back to conditioning, getting back in football shape, and getting back to [being] healthy."
Shanahan emphasized that Pearsall's recovery is being handled carefully, day by day.
"It surprisingly heals a lot faster than you would think," Shanahan continued. "When you tear your chest and stuff, you're out for the year, but a bullet hole that goes through your chest and out the back, for some reason, heals a lot faster.
"You learn a lot about that stuff, but yeah, it's week-to-week, so I don't really know when [he'll play], but he's traveling with us today, and it's been a good step this week, getting him back in the workout weight room."
The 49ers are set to board a plane this afternoon, heading to Minneapolis for Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Meanwhile, defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos is set to make his regular-season 49ers debut this weekend after suffering a knee injury in the August 23 preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders.
"We expect him to get there, into the rotation with our four defensive ends," Shanahan said. "I'm excited to get him out there. He had a hell of a camp. He had a good preseason. He's had these last two weeks, rehabbing really hard, and had a real good practice yesterday, and excited to see him play here on Sunday."
