Frank Gore's ankle injury causes 49ers little concern

An ankle injury suffered by running back Frank Gore was severe enough to warrant X-rays. However, neither Gore nor 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh on Monday seemed very concerned.

Gore emerged from a 19-11 victory over the Washington Redskins on Sunday with a bothersome ankle, though it wasn't enough to slow him in his march toward a fifth straight 100-yard game rushing.

"I'll be all right," said Gore, who rushed for 107 yards and is third in the league at 782. "I'm cool. Just checking up some things on my body. Yeah, I'll be all right."

Harbaugh said he isn't surprised that several of his players came away from the Redskins game banged up.

"That was a tough, physical game for everybody on our football team," Harbaugh said. "We knew it was going to be that way going in, and it played out that way."

Gore appeared far more comfortable discussing the prospect of playing for a playoff-bound team than his health. He is one of numerous players on the 49ers' 53-man roster who have yet to experience a winning season, let alone a trip to the NFC playoffs.

The 49ers hold a commanding five-game lead in the NFC West at the midpoint of the season. It's conceivable that they could clinch the division title well before December.

"That would be a big thing," defensive lineman Ricky Jean Francois said. "Our goal, we're trying not to let another team have to help us get to the playoffs. ... We're trying to secure a playoff spot now, so we don't have to worry about that later in the season."

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(mercurynews.com)