Kyle Shanahan went out of his way to avoid providing injury updates after the 49ers’ first practice in Australia, cleverly pointing out that they were a full day ahead of the Rams.

On the flip side, when Aaron Donald was asked about his status after rejoining 11-on-11 practice for the first time this week, all he could muster was a big smile and that he was “feeling good.”

Both sides dropped the act Tuesday.

And the Niners clearly came out in the more favorable position once the dust of the NFC West rivals’ gamesmanship settled. They’ll have Nick Bosa and George Kittle — and will only have to worry about one future Hall of Famer (Myles Garrett) lining up opposite them.

Donald, less than two weeks since coming out of retirement, is not accompanying the Rams for the long-haul season opener in Melbourne, coach Sean McVay revealed.

It goes without saying that of the two possibilities — facing the Rams with Donald or facing them without — the 49ers scored their optimal outcome.

Most of the team probably awoke to the news Wednesday morning in Melbourne. On Tuesday (Monday night in San Francisco … that darned international dateline), coordinators Klay Kubiak and Raheem Morris delivered an even bigger development.

“Oh, Nick Bosa? Oh, he’s going out there,” Morris said. “He’ll be there. We’re not hiding that.”

Despite the DC’s plea of innocence, Bosa only began trending in the right direction last week, returning for one practice before getting on the Niners’ flight to Melbourne. He missed most of training camp after complications on the knee he had surgically repaired just last September.

Kittle’s status was equally cloudy less than nine months after tearing his Achilles tendon. He returned to practice about a week before Bosa but was even more recently on the operating table. And, like Bosa, it appears that all things are a go after two practices Down Under.

“What the workload is, that’ll be determined, but he looks good to me,” Kubiak said. “He’s practicing full speed. He’s getting a ton of reps. So, I feel like we’re in good shape.”

It was a positive sign when both players boarded the plane in San Francisco, but their statuses for the season opener were still far from sure things. Bosa is attempting to come back from a second ACL reconstruction on his right knee in 11 months when the typical recovery takes 12-18 months. The usual timeline for Achilles tears is more like a year.

That either was in position to make the trip in the first place was remarkable in its own right.

Now, with two practices behind them and plenty of time to adapt to the 17-hour time difference, the 49ers seem confident that they’ll be able to count on both their superstars in question.

Australia may be on the other side of the world, but things really must be upside down there if the 49ers are coming out ahead on the injury report. And at least going by Tuesday’s developments, Shanahan is batting 1.000, while McVay went 0-for-3.

The way it played out lines up with the teams’ contrasting approaches to the game. 

The 49ers need a win more than the Rams. They’re the ones adjusting their body clocks and will have to reset them when they get back. Flying in 24 hours before kickoff to stay on Pacific time, the Rams seem to be emphasizing Week 2 and beyond, so why rush the 35-year-old Donald to be ready for the Niners if it could impact his availability for the next 16 games?

Whatever the logic, it works out splendidly for the 49ers, who were bound to have their biggest weakness — left guard — exposed having to somehow block Garrett and Donald.

The position battle to start next to Trent Williams remains undecided; Kubiak said the 49ers could deploy a rotation of players. Whether it’s Connor Colby, Carver Willis or even newcomer Jarrett Patterson, there had to be deep sighs of relief coming from the 49ers’ team hotel.

Morris is expected to debut some new looks in his first game leading the 49ers’ defense, but he would have had to get extra creative to drum up pressure on Matthew Stafford without Bosa. 

Rookie edge rusher Romello Height only recently returned from an ankle injury, and the 49ers had to fly in another defensive lineman — Khalid Kareem — from the Falcons’ practice squad after Sam Okuayinonu broke his foot in their final practice before leaving for the trip.

And nobody should be more thrilled to have Kittle than Brock Purdy, who watched him attack his rehab firsthand in Nashville over the summer and will have his favorite target against a Los Angeles defense that was fearsome without Donald because of that work.

“All I know is he went hard,” Purdy said. “He wanted to get back to play with the boys and to give this organization everything he’s got. So, that’s George.”

Without question, the 49ers have the momentum behind them heading into Thursday night.

After routinely practicing without 20 or more players throughout training camp, they’ve had almost full participation since arriving in Australia. The only player who sat out Tuesday’s session was rookie defensive tackle James Thompson Jr.

The Rams may already be on their way back to LA before they know what hit them.