It was assumed that George Kittle‘s Achilles injury would sideline him for a significant chunk of the 2026 campaign. However, the 49ers tight end is confident he’ll be back much earlier thanks to a “best-case scenario” tear.
[RELATED: 49ers’ George Kittle Suffers Torn Achilles]
Speaking to reporters today, Kittle discussed last week’s injury and the subsequent surgery, noting that doctors confirmed the team’s assessment that he suffered a “clean tear” near his soleus, which is located higher on his Achilles tendon.
“They didn’t have to drill into my heel,” Kittle said (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle). “And where the repair was, there’s more blood flow. And so it takes some time off the recovery time. So he’s very excited about everything. My recovery — when I’ll be running, when I’ll be ready to go play again — he’s very excited about it. So that puts me in a really good mood. It’s not as bad as other ones.”
Kittle wouldn’t commit to a definitive timeline, teasing that it would ultimately be a “surprise.” However, the tight end did acknowledge that he expects to be back before November, and he even hinted that he could push for a Week 1 return. As Branch notes, the latter scenario would require an eight-month recovery, which isn’t completely unfounded. Branch cites the roughly six-month recoveries for Michael Crabtree and Cam Akers, as well as Ben Roethlisberger‘s three-month turnaround (although the QB wasn’t cleared to play).
For further intrigue, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported this past weekend that Kittle had also undergone a “SpeedBridge repair,” which carries a bit more risk but should get him back on the field sooner (via Alex Simon of SFGate.com). The player was operated on by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, the team physician for the Rams and Dodgers. ElAttrache has also operated on the likes of Nick Bosa (twice), Tom Brady, and Kobe Bryant.
Kittle suffered the injury in the second quarter of San Francisco’s wild-card victory over the Eagles. The tight end said he felt pain when he planted his right foot in anticipation of a tackle, and he immediately knew what injury he had suffered
That is all good, but maybe the 9ers player get hurt every year because they don’t let their body get proper rest. Always pushing it too hard, did anyone that return from Achilles early look good? Akers came back looked okay season after but tore the other ans has been a PS elevated guy since.
So bosa tore his acl cause he didn’t rest it properly the first time? I guess Fred didn’t rest his left ankle right so he broke his right? Crabtree looked just fine coming back after 6 months from the same injury
Bosa did have a rest day a week of the ACL tear. Could be a nothing but that was week 3 and perhaps he was playing with an ache.
Warner was a freak accident roll up.
Cmc lasted this season most of the way but got ko’ed in the playoff game wear and tear.
Purdy tried to come back early from the toe.
Jennings played with a bunch of injuries instead of resting. He was in a contract year.
Yeah Crabtree was able to last a good while after.