Frank Gore Breaks Hand

San Francisco 49ers RB Frank Gore broke his hand during practice yesterday.

Fantasy Impact: This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Yes, Gore got hurt got hurt again, but established RBs need the least amount of time on the field during the preseason. Tomlinson, for example, barely ever plays in the preseason. With the pounding that RBs take over the course of the season, there's no need to give them many carries. It'll take a few weeks for him to heal, but coach Mike Nolan stated that he expects Gore to return to practice with a cast on his hand.

There's been some discussion as to whether or not this will affect his "fumbling problem", but I'm not buying it, nor do I believe there's much of a problem to begin with. Yes, he did fumble in his first 4 games last season, most of which were near the goal line, and that caused him to lose goal line carries for a while. He only fumbled twice the rest of the year (12 games), losing one, so he clearly corrected the problem. Plus he earned goal line carries back towards the end of the year. He'll likely score more TDs this season. Besides, it's a broken hand, not ligament damage that could affect the strength of his grip. Ignore this babble.

I understand the injury concerns that Gore has with the 2 ACL tears (1 in each knee) in college, and the torn labrum in both shoulders that he had surgery on prior to the 2006 season. He had 312 carries last year without an injury, and none of the injuries he's suffered previously are recurring issues. Don't move him in your rankings because of this.