San Francisco 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo doubtful, but team ‘holding out hope’ he plays Sunday

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers are still clinging to hope, however small it might be, that Jimmy Garoppolo will start at quarterback Sunday against the Houston Texans.

Garoppolo, who is dealing with a right thumb injury, did not practice again Friday, which means he did not participate in any of the team’s four workouts this week.

The Niners are officially listing him as doubtful for Sunday, though coach Kyle Shanahan is not ready yet to name Trey Lance the starter. Lance took all the reps with the starting offense in practice.

“I’m not ready to announce that,” Shanahan said. “Jimmy is not out, so I’m holding out hope. He’s got a chance this week, so he’ll have a better chance next week.”

According to Shanahan, the Niners’ medical staff made it clear that Garoppolo would have a better chance to heal and potentially play this week the longer he held out from throwing. So, instead of testing the injured thumb in practice, Garoppolo has been held out altogether.

The next step will be for Garoppolo to test the thumb on Saturday or possibly even wait until Sunday morning.

In the meantime, all signs still point to Lance making his second NFL start. Beyond getting all the starting reps in practice, Lance was made available to the media on Friday, his first interview session with local media since after his start against the Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 10.

“Practicing with the first team this week, I don’t know if Jimmy is going to be able to go on Sunday, but for me to be able to get those reps, I think, was huge,” Lance said. “Whether I can go on Sunday or not, I think I gained a lot from it.”

In that start against the Cardinals, a 17-10 loss, Lance finished 15-of-29 for 192 yards and an interception for a passer rating of 58.4. He also had four passes batted or tipped and carried 16 times for 89 yards.

Lance also suffered a sprained left knee in that game, an injury that kept him out and prevented him from continuing to get needed reps in practice. The sprained…