Deebo Samuel was only discharged from hospital on Tuesday having been admitted with pneumonia.

But the San Francisco 49ers' wide receiver could still play in Sunday's primetime game with the Dallas Cowboys.

Samuel, who was limited to just four snaps in last week's defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs because of the illness before being sent to hospital, will not take part in Wednesday's first practice for the Cowboys game, head coach Kyle Shanahan said.

However, when asked in a press conference if Samuel could feature against Dallas, Shanahan said the wideout is "doing better than you'd expect" and added that the Niners would "see how it goes the rest of the week".

The surprisingly optimistic tone on Samuel was one of few positives on their opening injury report for Week 8.

49ers preliminary practice report

DNP: WR Deebo Samuel (wrist/illness) TE George Kittle (foot), WR Jauan Jennings (hip), K Jake Moody (ankle), DT Kevin Givens (groin), S George Odum (knee) 

Limited: RB Jordan Mason (ankle), DE Nick Bosa (elbow), WR Chris Conley (ankle)

Jennings' continued absence is a problem in the wake of wideout Brandon Aiyuk's season-ending injury. Shanahan had last week expressed confidence that Jennings, their leading receiver, would be back to face Dallas after missing the loss to Kansas City, but his status appears to still be in some doubt.

Of even greater concern is Kittle's foot injury. With the sudden lack of depth at receiver, the 49ers can ill-afford to be without their All-Pro tight end for the second time this season.

Asked about Kittle whether there's a chance Kittle could miss out, Shanahan said: "I hope not, but he can't go today."

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