Latest update on Deebo Samuel injury: Will he play in NFC title game?

Without Deebo Samuel, Brock Purdy did not look his usual self in the passing game on Saturday night. Though the San Francisci 49ers still pulled out the divisional win to move onto the NFC Championship game for the second consecutive year, something seemed to be missing.

That something was obviously Samuel, who left the game early with an injury and was in street clothes for the second half of the game on the sideline. Samuel caught two passes for 24 yards before leaving the game for good.

Samuel was actually removed twice, once for a concussion evaluation, which he returned from, and a second time for a shoulder injury.

Purdy still accrued 252 yards passing, but a great deal were yards after catch. 116 of the 252 passing yards on the night credited to Purdy were from yards after the catch (46 percent of his total yards).

One of the main asks coming out of the game is whether or not Purdy will be healthy enough to go for the title game. San Francisco still figures to be the favorite against either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Detroit Lions, but the task is harder without a receiver as dynamic as Samuel.

Here's the latest on his injury.

Deebo Samuel injury update

According to Nick Wagoner of ESPN, the 49ers are having Samuel go through more tests, presumably imaging, on Sunday to determine the extent of his injury. He also reports that the team is right now, only "hoping" that he didn't suffer a hairline fracture that he suffered in Week 6.

Will Deebo Samuel play in NFC Championship game?

Right now, it all depends on the results of those tests Samuel is undergoing today. A hairline fracture had him miss two weeks of football early this season. If it's the same injury, hard to see him making a push for the title game, though the playoff intensity sometimes encourages players and teams to make greater risks.

Deebo Samuel timeline: Super Bowl return?

That said, there is a bye week in between the Championship Round and the Super Bowl. Even if there's a hairline fracture, there would be at least a thought that perhaps the additional week of rest would earn Samuel a route back in.