When San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan provided his injury update after the 49ers’ 23-12 preseason loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Friday night, he did not mention rookie tight end Cameron Latu.

But on Saturday, Shanahan told reporters that Latu had a meniscus injury and likely would need surgery to repair the knee issue.

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The 49ers will have a decision to make on Latu’s status by 3 p.m. CDT Tuesday. That’s the deadline for NFL teams to reduce their 90-player preseason rosters to the regular-season limit of 53.

If San Francisco places Latu on injured reserve before that deadline, the tight end could not play for the 49ers until the 2024 season. The only way Latu could play in 2023 is if San Francisco released him with an injury settlement, which would allow him to sign with another team when healthy. That seems unlikely considering his status as a third-round draft choice on April 28.

If San Francisco has Latu on its 53-player roster after the Tuesday afternoon deadline, the 49ers then could place him on injured reserve and the tight end would be required to miss no more than four games.

On Friday night, Latu was on the field for 13 offensive snaps and 11 special-teams plays. In three preseason games, he caught four passes for 55 yards and one touchdown.

Latu joined San Francisco as the 101st pick of the 2023 NFL Draft after catching 56 passes for 787 yards and 12 touchdowns in his final two seasons at Alabama. Latu started his college career with the Crimson Tide as a linebacker.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.