A report from earlier this week indicated that quarterback Brock Purdy would stay sidelined for the San Francisco 49ers’ game against the Houston Texans (2-4) on Sunday due to complications from the toe injury that has already caused him to miss five games.

Purdy was then officially listed as a limited participant for Wednesday’s practice. During a Thursday appearance on San Francisco Bay Area sports radio station KNBR, 49ers general manager John Lynch hinted that Purdy isn’t yet where he wants to be in his recovery.

49ers don’t want Brock Purdy to change how he plays because of toe

“…I think the athlete knows their body extremely well,” Lynch said while discussing Purdy’s injury, per David Bonilla  of 49ers WebZone. “And I think Brock knows he plays a certain way, and you can’t change the way you play to make it easier to play, and he’s not going to. He’s only going to play one way, so he’s got to be right to play that way, both from a medical standpoint and all that. So, we’re trusting Brock, we’re trusting the doctors. We’ll make a good decision on it, and that’s why it’s taken some time.”

Purdy missed Weeks 2 and 3 of the season due to an initial toe injury that he reinjured in Week 4 on Sept. 28. Meanwhile, backup Mac Jones has gone 4-1 while filling in for Purdy. Most recently, Jones completed 17 of 26 passes for 152 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception in San Francisco’s 20-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons this past Sunday.

Pro Football Reference stats indicate that Jones started Thursday as the NFL leader among qualified players with an average of 280.8 passing yards per game. He’s ranked 17th with a 55.2 adjusted QBR and 18th with an 89.8 passer rating. Over five games, Jones has thrown six touchdown passes and four interceptions.

Why there’s no “hard deadline” for Brock Purdy return date

Lynch refused to specify a return date for Purdy. This suggests the signal-caller might be watching from the sidelines when the 5-2 49ers face the Texans in Houston.

“A hard timeline [is difficult to set] because it’s kind of a feel thing,” Lynch explained. “And how he feels, that’s still out there, and TBD, but we’re getting closer, we do know that. I think this week, in particular, last week, I think we made some progress. And so, that has Brock encouraged. It has everyone encouraged.”

Shortly after Lynch gave his update, ESPN BET had the 49ers as 1.5-point underdogs against the Texans.