By Andrew McSteen

Lawrence Okoye will find out this week if he is to be part of the San Francisco 49ers squad for the forthcoming American Football season.

The 21-year-old from Waddon ditched a promising discus career to make the switch to the NFL earlier this year and was signed by the 49ers as a free agent because his large stature and pace suggest he could be a natural.

But having never played the game before his progress will take time and it was expected he would miss out on the 49ers’ 53-man squad, trimmed from the current 93, named later this week.

He could, however, be named in the eight-man practice squad – a group of players who are permitted by the NFL to train with the team, but not play in games.

If he misses out on that then the club have to officially release him, meaning he is free to be signed by other teams.

He has so far played three friendly games for 49ers, but is likely to miss the fourth on Thursday after being injured in the 34-14 win over Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Okoye, playing as a defensive linesman, took part in eight snaps, but injured his knee and was seen leaving the ground on crutches.

He had previously played in the final few minutes of a 10-6 loss to Denver Broncos and a 15-13 win Kansas City Chiefs.

“We’ve got a lot more to do and a lot of progress to make,” said Okoye earlier in pre-season.

“Hopefully, by this time next year, I’ll be in a good spot, but it’s just good to know I went out, I did my assignments and I didn’t look out of place.

“I’m pretty happy with where I am at the moment, but there’s a long, long way to go before I can consider myself a decent or a good football player – we’re at first base now.”