49ers linebacker Patrick Willis suffered a slight fracture in his right hand last week, an injury that was not expected to force him to miss any time in the regular season.
At the time, there was no word about what kind of rehab process Willis would have to undergo in order to return to the field, but the picture got a little clearer on Monday. Mike Sando of ESPN.com reports that Willis underwent surgery on his hand to help repair the injury.
There’s no change to the timeline for his return as he’s still expected to miss a few weeks before returning in time to play in the season opener. He may not wind up playing in any preseason games, although that probably was the case without any surgery given how meaningless the games are for a veteran as meaningful to the Niners defense as Willis, who has played with broken bones in his hand in the past.
As long as the prognosis remains the same for Willis, there’s a good chance no one even remembers the injury by the time October rolls around.