The San Francisco 49ers have been thin at linebacker this year after four-time All-Pro Fred Warner suffered a season-ending ankle injury, and the problem has gotten worse in recent weeks with Tatum Bethune and Nick Martin dealing with injuries of their own.

Last week, the 49ers decided to sign veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks to their practice squad with the hopes that he’d be able to contribute and bring some depth an experience to a young room.

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However, Kendricks was listed on San Francisco’s Wednesday injury report with a calf injury, leading general manager John Lynch to think the linebacker’s debut will have to wait.

“We brought Eric in with an intention of seeing where he’s at, knowing what he’s done in his career, what a great player he’s been, and the opportunity to get his legs underneath him,” Lynch said on KNBR. “I think, in that process, it’s not unusual for a guy who’s been away, that they’re going to get tight and things, and that kind of happened.

“And so, we’re going to give him the proper ample time to get ready to go showcase what he can do for us. And there’ll be a time, hopefully, where we have an opportunity to see that. Whether it be this week or not, I don’t know. Unlikely. He wasn’t on the practice field this week—yesterday—so we’ll see. But we’re still very encouraged with what we’ve seen.”

Kendricks, 33, was expected to join the 49ers last year before signing with the Dallas Cowboys and finishing the season with 138 tackles, three sacks and three passes defensed.

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At this point, San Francisco’s only healthy off-ball linebackers are Dee Winters, Curtis Robinson, Luke Gifford and Garrett Wallow on the 53-man roster and Jalen Graham on the practice squad.

If Kendricks is healthy enough to play, he could make a real difference in the middle down the stretch. We’ll just have to see if and when that point comes.

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This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: New 49ers LB ‘unlikely’ to make his debut on Sunday vs. Titans