49ers star pass rusher Nick Bosa will miss a few games after hurting his calf

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco 49ers star pass rusher Nick Bosa injured his calf warming up for practice earlier this week and will miss a few games.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said that Bosa got hurt before practice on Thursday doing “high knees.” Shanahan said Friday that the injury wasn't believed to be long term but he would likely miss a few weeks starting with Sunday's game against Arizona.

The injury is the latest to hit the defensive line for the 49ers, who are missing seven players at the position this week, including Mykel Williams who is still working his way back from knee surgery last year.

Defensive end Sam Okuayinonu broke his foot just before the Niners left for the season opener in Australia and is expected to miss most, if not all, of the season. Defensive tackle Alfred Collins went down with a season-ending knee injury in practice in Australia.

Defensive tackle C.J. West was placed on injured reserve this week after undergoing surgery for bone chips in his knee and fellow defensive tackle James Thompson Jr. has been ruled out for at least a few weeks after leaving last week's game with a high ankle sprain.

Rookie defensive end Romello Height had surgery on a broken hand this week and will also miss this week's game.

This is the third straight season when the Niners have dealt with a high number of injuries.

“You get used to just dealing with it,” Shanahan said. “Lots of people have to go through stuff in this league all the time, some worse than others. I know we haven’t had good luck these last couple of years. It started out bad, so hopefully we’re getting it out of the way and it’ll get better as the year goes. I’m happy that we haven’t lost those guys for the whole year, but you just plug away and look on to the next challenge.”

The loss of Bosa would be the most significant on the defensive line as the Niners were hoping he would be healthy this season after going down with a season-ending ACL injury in Week 3 last year.

Bosa has looked solid the first two weeks even though he hasn't had a sack. He had five pressures in Week 1 against Miami, according to Pro Football Focus, and has elevated a defense that finished last in the NFL with 20 sacks last season.

“He’s been really the most dominant player without a sack,” defensive coordinator Raheem Morris said Thursday. “I have to say he’s been awesome.”

Bosa has had at least nine sacks in the five seasons when he didn’t get hurt in the opening month as he has been one of the most productive edge rushers ever since being drafted second overall in 2019.

Bosa has made the Pro Bowl in all five of his healthy seasons and won the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in 2022, when he led the league with 18 1/2 sacks.

Bosa’s 74 1/2 sacks in the regular season and playoffs are the fifth most in the NFL since he entered the league in 2019 despite missing nearly two full seasons. His 280 total pressures rank fourth most in the NFL in that span, according to Sportradar.

Receiver Mike Evans was listed as questionable for the game with a hip injury. He returned to practice Friday on a limited basis.

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