Isaac Sopoaga injury: Jean Francois expected to replace Niners NG

Ricky Jean Francois will make his third career start and replace Isaac Sopoaga as the San Francisco 49ers' starting nose guard, according to SFGate.com. Sopoaga missed his second practice in a row on Thursday with a knee and ankle injury.

San Francisco defensive coordinator Vic Fangio told SFGate.com that the 49ers don't expect a drop-off in using the 25-year old replacement nose guard out of LSU:

"They're both pretty similar in some ways. They're both big physical guys on the nose for us. Rick's got a little more movement ability. Isaac got a little more stoutness to him. I don't see a big difference in either guy. We would expect Ricky to go out and play pretty good for us."

Jean Francois started two games last season and has 29 career tackles. In his two starts, the 49ers gave up anaverage of 69 rush yards.

The New York Jets don't present a huge run threat to the 49ers. They are 17th in the NFL in rush yards with 100.3 rush yards averaged per game.