San Francisco 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw appeared to suffer a game-ending injury while running back onto the field at the Super Bowl.
Greenlaw was seen bouncing up and down on the sidelines as he waited to get back on the field after a San Francisco punt.
As the 49ers defensive unit rushed onto the field, Greenlaw's left leg appeared to get stuck in the ground.
The 26-year-old then went down in a heap and looked in agony and his team-mates had their head in their hands.
Dre Greenlaw was seen heading off on a cart
CBS
Medical staff attended to Greenlaw, but he looked in some discomfort on the sidelines.
CBS reported that Greenlaw was unable to put any pressure on his left leg before being carted off to the medical centre.
He was originally listed as questionable to return before it was later confirmed he was ruled out with an Achilles injury.
The injury happened with the 49ers leading 3-0 with over nine minutes left in the second quarter.
He had suffered an Achilles injury earlier in the season and missed the games against Los Angeles Rams in Week 18 due to the leg issue.
He was said to have been carrying the injury for the 49ers' NFC divisional-round win over the Green Bay Packers last month.
Greenlaw was a key part of San Francisco's run to their first Super Bowl since 2019.
The linebacker started all 15 games he played this season and was the team's second-leading tackler behind Fred Warner.
He was drafted by the 49ers in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
Dre Greenlaw is heading off on the cart pic.twitter.com/dNVv2BUC8k
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) February 12, 2024
The 49ers were able to brush off the blow of losing Greenlaw to injury.
With a few minutes left of the first half, the 49ers pulled off a wild trick play with Brock Purdy offloading the ball to Juan Jennings.
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Dre Greenlaw was unable to put pressure on his leg
CBS
The receiver then launched a long ball across the entire width of the field to Christian McCaffrey.
The 27-year-old running back then saw a gap in the Chiefs' defence to sprint all the way to the end zone for the game's first touchdown.
Kansas City appeared to be out of ideas for the final minutes of the half as they started down a 10-0 deficit before the break.