49ers dodge catastrophic blow with Dre Greenlaw injury in NFC Championship

Dre Greenlaw suffered what looked to be a serious injury against the Lions in the NFC Championship game, but the 49ers do have some good news.

The San Francisco 49ers are already going to have to overcome some adversity in the NFC Championship game with the Detroit Lions taking a quick 14-0 lead at Levi's Stadium after their first two offensive possessions.

Then, after the Niners closed the gap to make it a 14-7 game, quarterback Brock Purdy tossing an interception to give a surging Detroit offense the ball again midway through the second quarter.

But things could have been much worse.

Linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who was instrumental for San Francisco in its divisional-round win over the Green Bay Packers a week ago in what was a two-interception game, attempted to tackle Lions tight end Sam LaPorta.

While Greenlaw made the tackle, it was a pretty intense hit.

Dre Greenlaw leaves 49ers-Lions game with injury, returns soon thereafter

Greenlaw got to his feet and immediately showed signs of pain before heading to the sidelines.

Going into the blue medical tent while favoring what appeared to be his shoulder, one could easily be concerned that it was a much more serious injury.

49ers legendary linebacker Patrick Willis, though, came out with a quick prognosis on Twitter/X:

Not long after, Fox Sports' Erin Andrews confirmed Greenlaw suffered a stinger injury, and the Niners listed him as questionable to return.

The linebacker did return, yet San Francisco still finds itself trailing 21-7 in the first half.

Read more from Niner Noise