Tests confirm 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk suffered a season-ending knee injury.

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When replays showed Brandon Aiyuk being hit in the leg during the Week 7 matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, fans feared the worst—that the star receiver would miss significant time.

Aiyuk limped off the field and was eventually taken to the locker room and did not return. At halftime, tight end George Kittle felt the weight of the situation when he learned Ayuk needed crutches and a knee brace.

After the game, head coach Kyle Shanahan shared that the team feared Ayuk had suffered a torn ACL.

“This is what it looks like, but we don’t know for sure,” Shanahan said. “We just do the test and everything ourselves, with the coaches and everything. This is what we fear, this is what it looks like, but we have been wrong before, so we pray that it will be so.”

On Monday, the 49ers’ fears were confirmed. According to a report from Jordan Schultz, tests confirmed that Ayuk suffered a severe knee injury and will miss the rest of the season. After becoming one of the highest-paid receivers in football, Aiyuk’s fifth season in the NFL ended with just 23 catches for 351 yards and no touchdowns in six games.

“Obviously what BA does for our offense and who he is as our teammate and our brother, it’s sad,” quarterback Brock Purdy said after the game. “I wish him nothing but the best and pray for him. This is my boyfriend.”

With Aiyuk out for the year, the 49ers will rely on Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings at the top of the wide receiver depth chart. Jennings missed Sunday’s game with a hip injury, but the team is hopeful he will return this week. Samuel tried to cope with his illness, but was absent for most of the game.

“Throat, stomach, just really tired,” Shanahan said, explaining the severity of Samuel’s illness. “I was struggling to breathe, I couldn’t catch my breath. That’s why he kept fighting it, but once he started having trouble breathing and everything, we had to shut him down.”

The 49ers also saw rookie Ricky Pearsall make his NFL debut just seven weeks after he was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery in San Francisco.

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“Obviously we have other guys that can step up and do a very good job,” Purdy said. “Ricky, him coming back for his first game was amazing. Just seeing him back there, making shots and making plays, he’s a player too. So we’re really excited for him and his growth and bringing him along.” We’re excited about this, thinking about BA and wishing him all the best.”

Purdy concluded: “We all just need to come together as a group, collectively, as a receiving unit and all of us. The guys just needed to step up and they did. Unfortunately, that’s the nature of sport.”

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