The San Francisco 49ers received good news before they took the field on Thursday night. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted the following:
49ers tight end George Kittle visited Wednesday in Los Angeles with renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed the surgery on his torn Achilles in January. It was said to be an encouraging visit. Kittle’s recovery is ahead of schedule, and it gives him a legitimate chance to play in the regular season opener in Australia against the Los Angeles Rams.
Last Sunday, Kittle said he expects to return sooner than later and didn’t think about the possibility of beginning the season on the PUP list.
One of Kittle’s lone concerns about being ready for Week 1 was getting enough practice time and building up his football shape ahead of traveling to Australia. He did not want the game to be his first time in pads. Kittle said you can train all you want, but you have to play football to get into football shape.
The 49ers face the Rams exactly three weeks from Thursday night. The 49ers have been practicing about four times a week with two walk-throughs mixed in. But that has also included joint practices and preseason games. If Kittle returns to practice this Saturday, he’ll have about a week of practices to build his cardio.
For what it’s worth, when he spoke this past Sunday, Kittle didn’t sound like it would be the end of the world if he missed Week 1. He understands it’s a 17-game season and this is a long, long season.
