"There might be changes to a 49ers running game that ranks 29th in the league after three weeks, but coach Jim Harbaugh indicated Monday that the starting running back would not be one of them.

Frank Gore injured his ankle in the second quarter of Sunday's 13-8 win over the Bengals, and he watched as his backup, rookie Kendall Hunter, participated in a decisive fourth-quarter drive and scored on a seven-yard run, the only touchdown of the game for either team.

Harbaugh, however, said Gore was not in an orthopedic boot – an indication of a serious high-ankle sprain – and that Gore was still the team's starter."