Harbaugh: Jacobs, James avoid long-term injuries

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HOUSTON -- Coach Jim Harbaugh found himself on the 49ers' post-game injury report with a pounding headache.The 49ers withstood a couple scary moments Saturday night when running backs Brandon Jacobs and LaMichael James were taken to the X-ray room at Reliant Stadium on carts. But Harbaugh reported that neither sustained a season-ending injury.Harbaugh's headache was a result of his yelling constantly at the replacement refs -- something he said he was prohibited from talking about, by the way.
But Harbaugh was happy to disclose Jacobs' injury is not as bad as initially feared after Houston Texans' cornerback Kareem Jackson hit Jacobs squarely on the knee with his helmet while his left foot was planted in the ground."He's going to miss a little time," Harbaugh said of Jacobs' injury, following the 49ers' 20-9 loss to the Texans at Reliant Stadium."I don't think it's anything . . . the ACL is good. The patella is good. It'll be some time, but we'll see. It's not the you-don't-come-back-from variety."Jacobs, who is being envisioned as the 49ers' short-yardage back, was injured at the end of an 8-yard run. It was his only offensive snap of the game.James, a second-round draft pick from Oregon, sustained his left ankle injury late in the game. X-rays were negative, Harbaugh indicated."Things look good, X-ray-wise, and it's calming down for him," Harbaugh said."It just twisted," James said. "I was actually blocking somebody and somebody hit me and I was planted, and my leg got caught. I went one way and the leg stayed put."James said he would be at practice on Monday, though he was advised that the 49ers' training staff might have a say in the matter."Coach Harbaugh always says we're building a callous, and that's what I'm going to do," he said. "I ain't going to miss any practice. I owe it to my teammates and myself to practice hard each and every day. I'm not going to let an injury . . . if I can't walk, that's a different story. But if I can walk, I can practice. That's how I feel."Inside the 49ers' locker room there was a sense of relief that neither Jacobs nor James would be out for an extended chunk of the season from the injuries they sustained Saturday."I haven't talked to those guys, but it's something good, obviously," left tackle Joe Staley said. "Those are two guys who are going to be key for our team this season. So we don't want to see them going down with anything serious."Said quarterback Alex Smith, "It's tough, no matter what. You hate seeing it in the preseason. Guys going out there trying to get work in to make the team. You want everybody both sides to come out healthy. It's tough to see guys get injured and beat up this early. Luckily, it looks like good news."