Lorenzo Neal on Justin Smith: “He’ll have one arm to punch, the other arm will be more to grab and wrap and tackle.”

Lorenzo Neal spoke on 95.7 The Game Tuesday afternoon. Here’s what he said about Justin Smith.

Q: Do you think Justin Smith will play next Saturday, and do you think he’ll be anywhere near 100 percent?

LORENZO NEAL: Those are two phenomenal questions. One, I know he can play. But the second question is the toughest. Guys are going to be hitting it, chopping it. He’s going to be sore. And I know what he can do. They can put him on Toradol. They’ll probably put him on a steroid package, a seven-day steroid package. I’ve done it many times, it tries to take the inflammation out of that area. They’ve probably got him on some Celebrex, some Biox. Got to be icing and stemming every day. Getting the inflammation out is imperative. You’ll see him out there in a brace. And then what you do for the triceps, you’ve got to strengthen your shoulders, strengthen your biceps – do movements that aren’t going to affect your triceps. The triceps is mostly when you extend. Justin likes to punch and lockout, so he’s going to play and be limited. He’ll have one arm to punch with, I think the other arm will be more to grab and wrap and tackle. He can still play, but it will be hard for him to punch and hit and read – he’s one of the best defensive lineman at that. I think they are going to lose something by not having a 100 percent Justin Smith.

Q: So you think he’ll be able to play?

LORENZO NEAL: Yeah, because the day of the game, guys take a thing called Toradol. Toradol, they inject in your butt. It’s a pain killer, it numbs the pain. You can play through it. Toradol, it’s candy. It was tea for me. I was taking Toradol like I was drinking coffee. You’re tight, you’re sore, and it relieves the pain for those three hours. We’ll see how Justin responds to it. He’s a tough guy. You know if this guy can go, he’s going to go. Justin’s in his 13th year. Justin understands he’s got two or three years left, if that. So he understands what this opportunity means for the 49ers. This is the 49ers’ year.

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