The San Francisco 49ers have had to get used to being without Arik Armstead during the second half of the season. The veteran defensive tackle has missed the last four games with foot and knee injuries, but the Niners have hope he will be able to return in time for the postseason.

Armstead will miss a fifth game in a row on Sunday as the 49ers face the Los Angeles Rams in a meaningless regular-season finale. He will then have another week to recover after the 49ers secured a first-round bye in the NFC playoffs by clinching the one seed.

General manager John Lynch on Friday expressed optimism a six-week absence will be enough time for Armstead to shake off his injuries and return for their Divisional Round playoff clash.

"That's our hope," Lynch said on KNBR's 'Murph and Markus' show when asked about Armstead returning for the postseason. 

"The one seed, when you talk about what it means, it means some extra time for a guy like Arik, who's been working through some foot and knee injuries and making a great deal of progress. But this just gives him a little extra time.

"And it's been killing Arik. He wants to be out there for his team, but this extra time just allows him more opportunity to heal up, and Arik's a big part of what we do. So he's working hard. We expect to have him for the playoffs. We hope to. I don't know about 'expect to' because you always have to hit these markers, and we'll turn up the intensity of his training as we get closer. And he's doing real well."

Armstead's absence has been keenly felt in run defense. The 49ers rank 28th in Expected Points Added per play against the run in their four games without Armstead and are 23rd in Success Rate in the same area of the game.

In pass rushing, Armstead has the seventh-highest PFF grade among interior defensive linemen, putting him three spots behind teammate Javon Hargrave. If they can reprise what was a formidable partnership in the postseason, it could go a long way to helping the 49ers to the Super Bowl.

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