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San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance has suffered a sickening season-ending injury, after breaking his ankle in their 27-7 win over NFL rivals Seattle Seahawks.
Lance went down late in the first quarter, after he was tackled, and seemed unaware of his injury, as he attempted to hop right back up.
But realisation quickly set in, before as he collapsed back down to the turf and was eventually carted off with an air cast on his lower leg.
"It's always tough, especially when it's a big one like that," said coach Kyle Shanahan. "You feel for someone so bad.
"It's sad, but you don't have time to sit there and think about it. You've got to get right back to the game and the guys did a real good job of that.
"I'm really happy about the win, but it's a little sombre once you get in the locker room."
Back-up quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo came off the bench and guided the 49ers to the win at Santa Clara, California.
Garoppolo completed 13 of 21 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown, and also scored on a one-yard sneak with 1m 51s remaining to clinch the result.
The 49ers (1-1) also got key contributions from two other injury replacements. Jeff Wilson Jr filled in as the lead running back for Elijah Mitchell and had a game-high 84 rushing yards on 18 carries. Subbing in for George Kittle, tight-end Ross Dwelley made a 38-yard touchdown reception and recovered two fumbles.
The Seahawks (1-1) managed just 216 yards of total offence and committed three turnovers. Quarterback Geno Smith was 24-of-30 passing for 197 yards and an interception.
Two plays after Lance's injury, Robbie Gould kicked his second field goal to give the 49ers a 6-0 lead.
Garoppolo found a wide-open Dwelley on the 49ers' next possession to make it 13-0.
The Seahawks finally got on tracked offensively late in the half, driving to San Francisco's five-yard line. On second-and-five, Kenneth Walker III took a snap in the wildcat formation and pitched to Deejay Dallas, who tried to hit DK Metcalf in the end zone, but Dallas grossly underthrew the pass, with the 49ers' Charvarius Ward making an interception at the goal-line.
The Seahawks held San Francisco to a three-and-out, forcing Mitch Wishnowsky into his first punt of the day.
Seattle's Tyler Lockett signalled for a fair catch, but teammate Xavier Crawford was blocked into him, the ball glancing off Crawford's arm and recovered by Dwelley.
Four plays later, fullback Kyle Juszczyk scored on a one-yard plunge to give the 49ers a 20-0 lead with 1m 26s remaining before the intermission.
The Seahawks' lone score came with 5m 25s left in the third quarter, as Tariq Woolen blocked Gould's 20-yard field-goal attempt and Mike Jackson returned it 86 yards for a touchdown.
Reuters/Newshub
