49ers GM John Lynch sounded certain Tuesday that Ricky Pearsall is going to be able to return to play and help the Niners this season.
— Upon arrival at San Francisco General Hospital late Saturday afternoon, 49ers general manager John Lynch walked in to greet Ricky Pearsall when the rookie receiver quickly inundated him with questions.
Not long before, Pearsall had been shot in the chest during an armed robbery attempt in the Union Square area of downtown San Francisco. But when Lynch got his first chance to speak with Pearsall, the rookie wideout wanted his general manager to know that he planned to get back on the field sooner than later.
„I think some of his earliest concerns is when he could play“, Lynch said Tuesday. „He’s asking me. I don’t know, but the surgeon was there and helping him through those type of thoughts.“
In the couple of days that followed, Pearsall was released from the hospital, returned to the 49ers training facility and placed on the reserve/non-football injury list. That designation means Pearsall must miss at least four games, but Lynch sounded certain on Tuesday that Pearsall is going to be able to return to play and help the Niners this season.
„He’s doing remarkably well“, Lynch said. „That’s kind of uncharted territory. It’s not every day you deal with something like this . It was just a lot for him to work through. Our medical experts felt [it was] too much to ask to come back within the next four weeks. We made that decision to at least give him that time. [It’s] really, really miraculous.“
On Sunday, Pearsall’s mother, Erin, posted to social media that her son had been shot in the chest with the bullet exiting out his back. Lynch added Tuesday that the bullet did not hit any of Pearsall’s organs and closer examination revealed no significant nerve damage.
Because of that, Pearsall did not need any surgery, which is why he was able to get out of the hospital less than 24 hours after being admitted.
