49ers lose running back Coleman to ankle injury

TAMPA, Fla. -- Running back Tevin Coleman's debut as a San Francisco 49erdidn't last long Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

At halftime, the Niners ruled out Coleman for the rest of Sunday's game with an ankle injury. That came after Coleman started and rushed six times for 23 yards and had a pair of catches for 33 yards.

After the game, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said he was concerned about Coleman's injury, though Coleman was able to jog off the field and it didn't seem the Niners were worried that it was going to be a long-term issue.

Coleman is slated to have further image testing done on the ankle when the team arrives in Youngstown, Ohio, on Monday. The Niners will spend the week training there in advance of their Week 2 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

If Coleman is out for a couple of weeks, the Niners will turn to backups Matt Breida and Raheem Mostert and could call up Jeff Wilson Jr. from the practice squad.

"We really like our (guys)," Shanahan said. "We love Jeff, who is on the practice squad. Jeff is a great player. We'll see what's up with Tevin and how long he will be out, and then we'll see what else is out there. But we like to have three guys up on game day, and if Tevin can't go, we'll have two and can bring Jeff up."

The 49ers signed Coleman to a two-year, $10 million contract in March, and he emerged as the starter in training camp, though Breida and Mostert still figured into the mix. That duo stepped in for Coleman after the injury, with Breida returning to the game after missing some time with what the team called hydration issues.

Breida and Mostert combined for 25 touches and 77 yards against the Bucs but provided some key first downs in the second half that helped put the game away.