Michael Thomas’ Injury Could Just Be What the 49ers Need

By M.G. Alison. Sep 17 2020, 05:57 AM EDT

Michael Thomas's high ankle injury is bad news for the New Orleans Saints, but it is good news for the San Francisco 49ers.

The Saints wide receiver could be out for weeks after he tangled with teammate Latavius Murray in their week 1 34-23 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with less than three minutes in the fourth quarter.

The injury means the Saints will be missing their star player, who is the reigning offensive player of the year, for weeks or at least three weeks if he will be put on the injured reserve list.

However, Thomas is against being put on the IR list as he said he would be back on the field sooner, as per ESPN report.

Not surprising as the 27-year-old had only missed one game in his NFL career so far, back when he was still a rookie in 2016 due to injury.

The high ankle injury is called as such because the ligament that is injured is above the ankle joint.

Although he is not the one treating Thomas, Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Tim Finney, in a talk with 4WWL, said that depending on the sprain's severity, a player could be back on the field after three weeks.

He added that treatment for that kind of injury could range from a walking boot to a minor surgery called TightRope. Rehabilitation will also be very quick.

Miami Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa had the procedure done in both ankles in 2018 and 2019 while playing for Alabama and was back on the gridiron after three weeks.

Should Michael Thomas be out for three weeks or more, that might be the time that the 49ers need to put their campaign back on the right track, considering that the Saints might be their top competition for the top seed in the National Football Conference, according to a report on the NBC Sports.

The 49ers had lost the Super Bowl LIV to the Kansas City Chiefs, but they started their Super Bowl LV campaign with a 24-20 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Not only that, the 49ers are also missing key players due to injury with Richard Sherman joining Deebo Samuel on the IR list.

George Kittle is suffering from a sprained knee, Brandon Aiyuk, with a hamstring injury, and Ben Garland with an ankle injury.

The Saints may have a replacement in former 49ers receiver Emmanuel Sanders whom they signed up in the free agency. Still, the Saints will be playing without their star player Michael Thomas who set an NFL record of 149 catches for 1,725 yards and nine touchdowns last year.

The Saints may well be stocked up on players, but their offense is not that daunting with Thomas.

While there is no confirmation yet on how long Thomas will be out, the Saints confirmed that he would not be in the lineup against the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football.