49ers’ Sam Okuayinonu has “bad injury” to his foot, hopes to play by end of season

When 49ers defensive lineman Sam Okuayinonu hurt his foot in the final practice before the team flight to Australia, there was hope that he could make a later flight and still play in the opener. The injury proved to be a lot worse than that.

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said Okuayinonu injured the same foot that already had a plate in it from a previous injury, and the hope now is just that he can get on the field at some point this season.

“He had a plate in his foot a while ago, and on our bonus practice the day we came, just stepped on it and it broke,” Shanahan said. “He’s going to have to get surgery. It’s a bad injury. Hopefully we can get him back later in the year, but it was a real tough loss. Hurt for Sam O, hurt for our team, but hopefully we can take care of business and he can come back later in the year.”

Okuayinonu was expected to have a big role in the 49ers’ defensive line rotation this year after starting 12 regular-season games and both playoff games for them last year. Losing him just before the start of the season will be a challenge for the 49ers’ defense.