The San Francisco 49ers might want to look for whoever in their organisation crossed the wrong person, as their injury curse is beginning to look like voodoo.

For a team already missing Nick Bosa, Brock Purdy, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk and Ricky Pearsall amongst others, the loss of defensive talisman Fred Warner before half-time in the Week 6 game in Tampa Bay is another massive blow — and a potentially devastating one for playoff hopes that have remarkably survived intact this far into their injury-hit campaign.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan confirmed that Warner will miss the rest of the season after requiring surgery on the broken and dislocated ankle suffered in Sunday’s loss to the Buccaneers.

“I think usually things like this are around three months’ [recovery], but I haven’t asked all the questions you guys are asking me yet,” Shanahan told Monday’s regular press conference. “I assume he’ll be good for the offseason workouts and stuff like that.

To add insult to injury, Warner’s woe was caused by friendly fire after being clipped by a team-mate during a first quarter pursuit, and it was a mark of the respect in which the veteran linebacker is held that both teams took time to console him as he was carted off the field, his right leg already in an aircast.

“We didn’t realise [we were missing a DE] until the snap and needed 11 out there,” Shanahan admitted of the sideline’s part in the incident. “We would’ve called a timeout if I saw it, but I didn’t. It was an unfortunate mistake.”

The former third-round pick has only previously missed one game in his eight-year career, but will now be sidelined for at least the remaining 11 games of 2025, and more if the 49ers persevere and make the postseason. It is unclear at this point whether the injury, and subsequent recovery, will extend into the 2026 campaign.

“It’s just heartbreaking,” running back Christian McCaffrey said after the game, “It’s such a weird game when you see something like that — as it was with [Nick] Bosa earlier in the year — and have to continue to play. But it’s heartbreaking – Fred’s one of the best players I’ve ever played with, one of the best leaders I’ve ever played with.”

While Shanahan noted that Warner’s injury, while something no-one wanted to see, would give seventh-round pick Tatum Bethune the opportunity to step up and make a name for himself, McCaffrey admitted to being grateful that some members of the team’s long injury list, especially on defense, should be poised to rejoin the active roster before too long.

“[Bethune] came in and I thought he did a lot of good things getting us lined up, but I think that’s something he’ll be a lot more ready for next week getting all the reps and things like that,” Shanahan reasoned. “No one can be as good as Fred at those types of things, but that’s something I expect Tatum to be able to handle in the future.”

From trailing 7-3 at the time of Warner’s injury, the 49ers lost direction after the loss of their captain, conceding another 23 points in his absence as they sank to only their second defeat of the season. With Bosa also lost for the season with a torn ACL, San Francisco’s defense is now missing two of its biggest influences, with Warner — routinely the team’s best tackler — bringing vital experience as a stalwart of past Super Bowl appearances and a four-time All-Pro.

“Prayers to Fred and his family,” offered QB Mac Jones, who has stood in admirably for the injured Purdy this season. “I’m not really sure what happened, but it obviously looked pretty bad. Fred’s been a leader on this team for a long time and all we can do is pray for him and let him know we’ve got his back.”

Ever the leader, Warner remained in the locker room after being taken off, and spoke with team-mates after the game.

“I’ve seen guys do it before, but it’s not something you ever ask a guy to do or anything like that,” Shanahan noted. “You never know where guys are with the injuries and stuff. Sometimes they can’t even function at that point depending on when it happened in the game. But, it was cool to have Fred come out and do that — he asked to do it and he was in a good place. Guys were hurting for him big time.

“Fred’s not only as impressive of a football player I’ve ever been around, but as impressive of a human as I’ve ever been around. And the foundation and base he has, just as a man and how he lives his life — you guys read his quotes and stuff and how he’s looking at this — and that’s as real as can be when you hear how he speaks. That’s why we know he will come back next year stronger than ever.”

Shanahan’s faith in Bethune may be misplaced such is the void that will be left by Warner’s absence, such is his all-round ability, and could prompt the Niners to dive into the market for a replacement before the trade deadline hits early next month. The problem is that the team has other areas that need addressing and not much capital to play with. It was notable, however, that with Warner gone, Tampa immediately — and successfully — attacked the areas where he would have been.

Prior to Sunday’s game, Newsweek reported that the 49ers had shown interest in trading for Green Bay Packers’ defensive end Kingsley Enagbare as a potential replacement for Bosa, but may now have to rethink their options — even to the point of not wasting assets if they believe their season may effectively be over.

“I don’t think we were being that aggressive,” Shanahan concluded. “We’re looking for things that make sense for our team right now and in the future. Not having Fred makes that harder, but I don’t see a big difference between Sunday before that game started and today. It definitely hurts losing a guy like Fred but, in terms of people who are available that can improve our team for this year and next year, I don’t see the situation that much different.”