Monday 24 September 2018 20:44, UK
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn ACL in the defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs.
An MRI scan on Monday confirmed the 49ers worst fears.
Garoppolo's left knee buckled just before taking a heavy hit from Chiefs cornerback Steven Nelson down the left sideline.
Garoppolo was on the turf for a couple of minutes before he was helped to his feet and eventually carted off the field.
Such an injury to their starting quarterback would be bad news for the banged-up 49ers (1-2), who have already lost top running back Jerick McKinnon to a season-ending knee injury.
"Any time you lose your starting quarterback, that's a big deal. It was when we lost our starting running back, too," head coach Kyle Shanahan said.
"I feel for him personally. I know how disappointed he is."
Garoppolo was back-up to Tom Brady in New England before making the move West and Brady was quick to sympathise: "It's a tough injury. I feel bad for Jimmy ... it sucks."
"You hate to see someone go down, someone I really like and have been friends with since the day he got here."
Back-up QB C.J. Beathard took over for Garoppolo with just over five minutes left Sunday, and he appeared to throw a touchdown pass to George Kittle before offensive pass interference wiped it out.
Beathard is in line to start next week when the 49ers play the LA Chargers in Los Angeles.
"I have got a lot of confidence in C.J.," Shanahan said.
Everyone in here has a ton of respect for C.J., how he handles himself. He's a man out there, and he's a very good quarterback, and we're fortunate to have him."
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