Chiefs' Thuney on injured reserve ahead of Super Bowl

The Kansas City Chiefs have placed All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney on injured reserve, one day out from Super Bowl LVIII.

Thuney has a pectoral injury, which also sidelined him for the AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens on January 28.

Kansas City also activated running back Jerick McKinnon from injured reserve, and elevated nose tackle Mike Pennel from the practice squad ahead of the match-up against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday (Monday AEDT).

McKinnon was listed as questionable on Friday's injury report because of a groin injury suffered against the New England Patriots on December 17. He was limited at practice throughout the week.

Thuney also was listed as questionable for the game before Saturday's development.

Nick Allegretti is again expected to fill in for Thuney, a three-time Super Bowl champion.

Thuney, 31, started all 17 regular-season games and Kansas City's first two play-off games. He was injured in the divisional play-off win at Buffalo on January 21.

In his third season with Kansas City, McKinnon had 21 carries for 60 yards and a touchdown in 12 games and caught four touchdown passes among his 25 receptions for 192 yards.

Isiah Pacheco is the team's top back. He leads a Kansas City rushing attack that also includes Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

A 2014 third-round draft pick by the Minnesota Vikings out of Georgia Southern, McKinnon has 2650 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns, to go with 269 catches for 2048 yards and 20 touchdowns for the Vikings (2014-17), 49ers (2020) and Chiefs.

McKinnon, 31, missed the 2018-19 seasons with San Francisco after tearing the ACL in his knee during a 2018 pre-season game.

Pennel, 32, played in three regular-season games and two post-season games for the Chiefs this season.

In the opposition camp, the 49ers have announced that defensive tackle Kalia Davis has been ruled out.

Davis has an ankle injury and was listed as questionable on Friday's injury report. He was a full practice participant during the week.

The 25-year-old played in three regular-season games for San Francisco. He sustained the ankle injury against the Arizona Cardinals on December 17 and has since been sidelined.

The 49ers also elevated defensive linemen Alex Barrett and TY McGill from the practice squad.

Barrett, 29, last played in an NFL game during the 2020 season for the 49ers.

McGill, 31, played in two games for San Francisco this season.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden will skip the traditional pre-game interview with the CBS television network before Sunday's Super Bowl, which is expected to become the most-watched American football game ever.

It is the second year in a row that Biden has opted out of the interview.

White House officials told reporters last week they made the decision because Super Bowl viewers wanted to watch football, not the president.

On Saturday (local time), a White House official said Biden turned down the interview because CBS would have aired just a brief clip on Sunday, instead of a fuller extended version.

This year's Super Bowl clash between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers is expected to shatter viewership records in the US.

Tickets are on track to be the most expensive ever amid feverish excitement that pop star Taylor Swift may attend to support boyfriend Travis Kelce, the Chiefs' tight end.

A record 200.5 million adults in the US are planning to watch Super Bowl this year, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation.