Brock Purdy #13 of the San Francisco 49ers, seen here pressured by DeMarcus Lawrence #0 of the Seattle Seahawks, injured his toe and left shoulder on Sunday. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
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The San Francisco 49ers quarterback situation for their upcoming Week 2 game against the New Orleans Saints may not be Purdy. Their starting quarterback Brock Purdy suffered a left shoulder and toe injuries during the 49ers 17-13 Week 1 win over the Seattle Seahawks. The 49ers have not specified what exatly happened to these body parts. But on Monday, their head coach Kyle Shanahan did indicate the following: “I’d probably say the toe’s worse than the shoulder… We’ve got to see how it heals and how the week goes.” And two days later, on Wednesday, Shanahan called Purdy’s chances of playing at New Orleans “a long shot.”
Different Parts Of Your Toe Can Get Injured
That’s all still Purdy non-specific. The severity, healing and availability of Purdy’s toe will depend heavily on which toe is injured and what specific part of the toe got injured. Each of your toes consists of the following five major components: bones, ligaments connecting the bones across the toe joints, cartilage in the toe joints, soft tissue and nails. Each of these can get perturbed in different ways.
Toe Bones Can Get Fractures
The bones can get fractured in various ways. One end of the spectrum are stress fracture, which are very small, often described as hairline fractures that result from repetitive force and pounding to the bone over time. The other end of the spectrum are breaks that happen when a single application of force is applied to the bone. This can be something forceful falling or pressing on the toe or twisting it in an awkward manner.
When such breaks result in a piece of the bone slipping out of place, the fracture is considered displaced. That may require surgical correction. Surgery is typically necessary when the fracture is open, meaning that the bone has penetrated the skin in some manner versus closed where it hasn’t.
When the fracture is non-displaced, the treatment is typically rest to allow it to heal. A simple toe fracture usually takes four to six weeks to heal. This goes up to six to eight weeks when the fracture is more complex. Big toe fractures can take even longer since they support more weight.
Toe Bones Can Get Dislocated
A toe bone can get dislocated as well. This is when a bone gets knocked out of its joint either partially or completely. When this happens, you want to reduce the dislocation, meaning put the bone back in place, as soon as possible to avoid further damage. A closed reduction is when you manipulate the toe to put the bone back in its joint without cutting through the skin in any way. An open reduction is when you have to do it surgically.
When a dislocation is reduced rapidly and smoothly, frequently you can resume regular activities within a day or two. However, a more severe dislocation or one in the big toe may require a longer time, up to eight weeks, to heal to the point that you can get back to regular activities.
Toe Ligaments Can Get Torn
Ligaments are bands of connective tissue that link one bone to another and help hold joints in place. A sprain is when you overstretch or tear a ligament. A toe sprain is when you do this to one of the ligaments in your toe. There’s also turf toe is sprain of specifically the base of your big toe joint. The severity of a sprain depends on how much of a ligament is torn. A complete tear of a ligament could require surgery to re-attach the ligament.
The Soft Tissue And Nails Of Toes Can Get Damaged
Then there are the parts of the toes that you can more readily see: the soft tissue and nails. These can get damaged in different ways. You can bruises and bleeding. Friction and pressure on the soft tissue can lead to thickening, which is what you see with corns and calluses. The nails can get torn and damaged in various ways too.
Purdy Was Held Out Of Wednesday’s Practice
So while Purdy may not yet be toe-tally a scratch for this Sunday’s game, he did stay out of the 49ers practice on Wednesday. If Purdy can’t go this Sunday, Mac Jones, who played for the Jacksonville Jaguars last season, will start in his place.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2025/09/10/49ers-brock-purdy-may-miss-week-2-with-toe-and-shoulder-injuries/
