9 49ers, 4 starters out injured in 2nd-to-last preseason practice

The San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday held their penultimate practice before boarding a plane for their flight to Australia where preparations for their Week 1 matchup against the Los Angeles Rams will begin in earnest. That practice came with some not-so-good news on the injury front.

According to ESPN’s Nick Wagoner, nine players were not in attendance for the early part of Tuesday’s session which is open to reporters. There were four projected starters among the group not participating. Here’s the full list via Wagoner:

• DE Nick Bosa
• DE Romello Height
• DT Gracen Halton
• CB Renardo Green
• WR Mike Evans
• WR Jacob Cowing
• FB Kyle Juszczyk
• LB Luke Gifford
• CB Ephesians Prysock

The silver lining here is that tight end George Kittle continued participating in practice which means he hasn’t dealt with any setbacks. All signs continue to point toward him suiting up for the season opener.

It’s important to note that Tuesday’s practice isn’t the indicator for which players will or won’t be on the flight to Australia. The team is still likely exercising extreme caution with the regular season opener just over a week away. Getting to this point in the preseason and then pushing an injured player back into the fold too quickly would be a disaster.

On the other hand, it isn’t a great sign that the 49ers still have so many key players listed as full absences. Wednesday will be a better indicator for who will and won’t be making the trip. The 49ers aren’t required to issue participation reports until Monday when their first regular practice week of the season begins.

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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 9 49ers, 4 starters out injured in 2nd-to-last preseason practice