SANTA CLARA — Wide receiver Deebo Samuel appears to be trending in a positive direction for the 49ers.
Samuel was scheduled to participate but be limited in practice Thursday afternoon, one day after he took part only in conditioning and physical therapy at the 49ers’ workout facility.
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Coach Kyle Shanahan declined to get into any specifics of Samuel’s left shoulder injury when he met with the media before practice.
However, 49ers general manager John Lynch sounded optimistic that Samuel will be available to play against the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday at Levi's Stadium.
“Deebo’s doing really well in his rehab, I’ll tell you that,” Lynch said during an appearance on KNBR. “We’ve been encouraged by the early signs. We did the scans and all of that. We got good news there, and then it’s, what’s his pain? What’s his range of motion” Those things continue to improve.”
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Samuel played just nine snaps in the 49ers’ NFC divisional playoff round win over the Green Bay Packers before exiting the game with a shoulder injury. Shanahan said tests revealed that Samuel did not sustain a fracture to his shoulder.
“It’s very much a fluid situation,” Lynch said. “It’s the NFC Championship, though. I can promise you this: Deebo is going to be doing everything he can. He’ll be wanting to play by the end. And do we clear him? Do we allow for that? We sure would love to have him.
“I think there’s still a lot of time left in this week. We’re a better team when he’s out there, so we’re going to do everything in our power and he’s going to do everything in his power to have him out there.”
Samuel is an important part of the 49ers' offense as a pass-catcher, runner and blocker. He caught 60 passes for 892 yards and seven touchdowns. He also scored five touchdowns on the ground, gaining 225 yards on 37 attempts.