49ers’ Smith awaits OK to play in London game

Staff report

LONDON

San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith spent Monday morning at a hospital in London having his injured left shoulder examined and is still waiting to hear if he will be able to play Sunday against the Denver Broncos at Wembley Stadium.

The 49ers (1-6) flew to London from Charlotte, where they blew a late lead and lost to the Carolina Panthers 23-20. Smith was injured on a third-quarter sack and still had his non-throwing arm in a sling Monday afternoon.

“It’s all right. Could be better,” Smith said after arriving at the team’s hotel outside London from the hospital.

Smith completed 9 of 19 passes for 129 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers. He was hurt when a mix-up on protection allowed Charles Johnson to come in and tackle him on the blind side, driving his shoulder into the turf.

Smith was still in pain and had not slept much since the team flew to London overnight. As far as playing against the Broncos, the quarterback said he had no idea.

“I’m still waiting to hear from the doctors,” he said.

San Francisco coach Mike Singletary also was in the dark about Smith’s status.

“I’m not a doctor, so we’ll have to wait and see,” he said.

The 49ers and Broncos are playing in the fourth regular-season game in the British capital. The three previous games were sellouts, and this one is expected to be as well.

For Singletary, though, the trip is about making his struggling team better.

“For us, it’s a nice chance to get away and regroup, rethink,” Singletary said. “It really works to be a bonus for us. It really gives us a chance to kind of get away from the hustle and bustle of the NFL, to come over and kind of think through some things, look at maybe some changes we need to make.”