Sporting a walking boot on his left foot, McDonald revealed that he sustained a high ankle sprain in last week's 10-9 loss to Carolina and is pessimistic about his ability to play Sunday at New Orleans.
'I think probably, yeah,' McDonald said when asked if his injury ruled him out this week.
If McDonald can't play, he will be replaced at left defensive end by Tony Jerod-Eddie, 23, who hasn't started a game in his two-year career. Jerod-Eddie, who replaced McDonald in the second quarter last week, had four tackles in 40 snaps against the Panthers. Demarcus Dobbs, who played 24 snaps last week, would also be in line for more playing time.
If McDonald is inactive, it's likely at least one of the 49ers' two rookie defensive linemen, Tank Carradine and Quinton Dial, would in uniform against New Orleans. Both Carradine, a second-round pick, and Dial, a fifth-rounder, were inactive against Carolina. Both linemen spent the majority of the season on the non-football injury list because of injuries sustained in their college careers.
Dial has played 15 snaps in two games this season, while Carradine, who was activated from the NFI list on Oct. 29, has yet to play a snap.
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