Ambry Thomas proved his toughness in the 49ers’ win against the Commanders.

Kyle Shanahan revealed today on a conference call that Thomas had a broken hand going into that game. He had every reason to sit out of the game, but elected to play with a cast on instead.

However, Thomas is now set to have surgery this week on his broken hand. So, he will not be available for the season finale versus the Rams. The good news is that Thomas is not expected to miss anything than that game.

“It would only be this week, said Shanahan. “I think they even told me before the Washington game that he would get surgery this Tuesday and there could still be an outside chance to play this Sunday. So, I doubt that we would risk that now in this situation that we’re in, but that makes me feel pretty confident for our next game he will be available.”

Thomas getting surgery now continues to show how valuable it was for the 49ers to clinch the NFC’s No. 1 seed this past week. Thanks to that, the 49ers have nothing to play for in Week 18. Players who have injuries, or sudden surgeries, can take care of that. The 49ers basically have a two week Bye, which is so crucial for them at this time.

Losing Thomas for the year would’ve stung the 49ers. He has played a huge role into why the defense has improved in coverage since the Bye week. With Thomas out, I would presume that Jason Verrett or even Darrell Luter Jr. gets some work in for this game.