A Chicago-based TV station has gone viral for being tricked into using a fake image of San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan in hospital.WGN-TV ran the picture of Shanahan sitting upright in a hospital bed alongside a woman, suggesting it was in the aftermath of the car crash that has left him with multiple serious injuries.But the actual photo, released earlier this month, was of Senator Mitch McConnell and his wife Elaine Chao following his admission to hospital in mid-June after a fall and ‘mild case of pneumonia’.The 84-year-old has not spoken publicly since his hospitalization 47 days ago amid widespread speculation about his health.Earlier this week, Shanahan admitted to a small group of 49ers reporters that he was to blame for the car crash in northern California on July 14 after briefly looking away from the road to pick up his cell phone.The 46-year-old collided with an SUV near his home in Palo Alto while returning from a chiropractor appointment. He broke his nose, three ribs, his hand, required more than 40 stitches in his face and suffered a severe concussion. A Chicago-based TV station was tricked into using a fake image of Kyle Shanahan in hospital The actual photo, released earlier this month, was of Senator Mitch McConnell and Elaine Chao’I was going 20 miles an hour,’ Shanahan said. ‘I was not on my phone, but I dropped my phone and it was stuck in my seats.’It’s on my lap and it slid off. And I went down to look for it and took my eyes off the road for two seconds.’As I was coming up, the airbags hit me in my face, and they broke my nose and then they said the visor really gashed me. I took my eyes off the road looking for my phone, and my car veered into someone.’It’s one of those roads where there’s no forgiveness. When I hit her, the impact was just so, I’ll just never forget how violent it was.’A clerical error in local law enforcement’s database had attributed the crash to the female driver of the SUV, prompting Shanahan to clear it up. ‘I hit her. I don’t know why it was reported that way [on the collision report database]. The police report doesn’t say that.’It just crushed me hearing the girl get blamed for it. I’m just lucky that I survived, that she didn’t get hurt and that I didn’t lose my eye.’As a result of his injuries, Shanahan has been limited in what he can do during 49ers training camp although he has been watching practices in a major sign he’s on the road to recovery.He added that fatigue is still one of his biggest problems, admitting he felt better on Monday but was struggling on Tuesday. The San Francisco 49ers head coach pictured with wife Mandy before this year’s Super BowlHis longtime ally Chris Foerster, who serves as assistant head coach, has taken on a bigger role in training camp with help from new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris. The 49ers’ general manager, John Lynch, told reporters last week that he expects Shanahan to be healthy enough to coach the team in their opening game against the Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne on September 10.’The timeline kind of takes care of itself. He’s got to meet certain markers,’ Lynch told reporters on Saturday. ‘But I think the expectation is that long before that he’ll be better.’Shanahan, the son of legendary NFL head coach and two-time Super Bowl winner Mike Shanahan, has been in charge of the 49ers since 2017.He was poached after his Falcons offense led the league in points scored and helped the team reach the Super Bowl in 2016, when Atlanta infamously let a 28–3 lead slip to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.The 49ers are once again considered among the contenders to win the NFC and reach the Super Bowl this season with a star-studded roster that includes Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Nick Bosa and Brock Purdy.