San Francisco 49ers running back Matt Breida has been banged up this season. He kicked off the preseason with a separated shoulder, which kept him out until Week 1.

Most recently, Breida has been dealing with an ankle injury. While he was limited to just five carries against the Los Angeles Rams during Week 7, he had a career-high 16 carries against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan joined KNBR on Wednesday morning and discussed the health of his running backs.

"I think they are getting healthier," Shanahan said on the "Murph & Mac" show. "I think Breida, he didn't have any setbacks last week versus the Cardinals. It is coming off a few days, so no one is that fresh for tomorrow.

"He's had some setbacks the last couple of weeks, and he didn't have one versus Arizona, so I think he's on his way to getting better. Hopefully, he can get through this game without a setback and then we'll get our first rest of the year."

That rest will come in the form of 11 days until the 49ers' next game, a Monday-night matchup against the New York Giants.


"(Playing on) Thursday's a crime, but the good thing is you get a few days off after it," Shanahan continued. "That's something our team really needs right now because we haven't had a bye week."

Raheem Mostert has been filling in for an ailing Breida and is averaging 6.5 yards per carry this season while doing so. Serving mostly as a special teams contributor over his career, Mostert carried the football a career-high 12 times for 87 yards against the Green Bay Packers during Week 6.

The extra playing time has taken its toll on the fourth-year running back.

"Raheem got banged up last week, so this is his first time going into a game this year banged up," Shanahan explained. "So he's not as healthy, but our guys will be ready for this game. We'll tough our way through it. Get that energy and stuff going, especially once kickoff happens, and you get into that stadium."

You can listen to the entire conversation with Shanahan below.




More San Francisco 49ers News