49ers' Jimmy Garoppolo: Shoulder is 'great,' thumb 'holding up for right now'

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has been in headlines throughout the week as teammates and head coach Kyle Shanahan came to his defense amid criticisms he's held the team's offense back with his lackluster play over the past two playoff victories leading up to Sunday's NFC Championship Game at the Los Angeles Rams. 

Somewhat lost in the noise is the fact Garoppolo has been dealing with a Grade 3 sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right (throwing) thumb since before Christmas and also that he played through a "slight" sprain to his right shoulder in last Saturday's win at the Green Bay Packers. 

Garoppolo's shoulder is no longer mentioned on injury reports, and he answered questions about both issues while speaking with media members Friday. 

"It feels great," Garoppolo said when asked about the shoulder, according to David Bonilla of 49ers WebZone. "Yeah, arm's ready to roll."

Garoppolo did not, however, address previous reports that he'll need surgery to repair the thumb whenever his playoff journey ends, either by this coming Monday morning or on Super Bowl Sunday. 

"I think we'll approach that after the season a little more," he explained. "But yeah, it's holding up for right now. It'll be alright."

As noted by ESPN, Garoppolo is, statistically speaking, playing the worst football among the four remaining starting quarterbacks heading into the weekend. Like the other three, however, he's potentially four quarters away from advancing to the Super Bowl. 

For what it's worth, ESPN's Nick Wagoner predicts Garoppolo will throw three touchdown passes against the Rams on Sunday. Jimmy G has yet to find the end zone this postseason.