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nick wagner
Santa Clara, California – While san francisco 49ers tight end george kittel Having just opened his practice window this week and having a full 21 days to recover from his hamstring injury before making a decision, he made his plans for Sunday night atlanta falcons Clear on Thursday afternoon.
“I fully plan on playing Sunday,” Kittle said. “as long as [coach] Kelly [Shanahan] Gives me. It depends on him. But hopefully I’m out there. Who I think I’ll become.”
The 49ers have been without their star tight end since the season opener on September 7 Seattle SeahawksAfter 22 snaps, Kittle injured his right hamstring while running a deep route from the right sideline with 10:06 left in the second quarter.
Speaking to the media Thursday for the first time since the injury, Kittle said he knew immediately something was wrong and that the injury was actually a “complete tear” of his hamstring.
“I felt like a rubber band broke in my hamstring,” Kittle said. “I was like, ‘Ah, I have to go to the locker room after that.'”
According to Kittle, he was a little lucky with his hamstring injury as it was not completely torn from the bone. Because of this, Kittel’s recovery time was much shorter than the three to six months it took for more serious wounds to heal.
Still, Kittle is not waiting so patiently to return to the field after missing the last five games as the Niners managed to take a 4-2 lead. The five contests Kittle has missed is the second most he has missed in a season, behind 2020, when he missed eight games due to knee and foot injuries.
Based on league rules, which require injured reserve players to miss at least four games, Kittle could technically have returned for last week’s game. tampa bay buccaneersBut Kittle said Thursday that he wanted to make sure he wasn’t rushing things because he didn’t want to make the injury worse.
“I’ve been so excited to play football since last season ended and being able to only play 20-some snaps has been very difficult for me,” Kittle said. “I’m trying my best to get back as quickly as possible without being stupid or rushing it.”
Kittle was listed as a limited participant in practice on Wednesday and Thursday, although he said after Thursday’s session that he felt “really good” and “felt better today than yesterday.” Kittle’s potential return has generated a lot of excitement among his teammates, many of whom have said that he looks up to him in addition to his performance on the field.
“George is amazing,” quarterback mac jones Said. “He’s very energetic in the crowd and he’s just George. … Whether it’s practice or game day, he’s not going to change, so you know what you’re going to get. I’m excited to see where he’s at.”
If the 49ers activate Kittle for Sunday against the Falcons, they will need to make corresponding roster moves. linebacker fred warner He has dislocated and fractured his right ankle, which is why he is scheduled to go to the reserves.
Another big question facing the Niners as Kittle works toward a comeback: Who will throw him the ball? It appears that Jones is likely to get another start as the starter on Sunday night brock purdy Continues to recover from a toe injury.
Purdy was limited again in Thursday’s practice, Jones, who has been dealing with knee and oblique injuries, was upgraded from a limited participant on Wednesday to a full participant on Thursday.
,[I] It definitely felt like I needed to practice, no matter how it felt,” Jones said. “Keep track of timing and everything, so we feel good about it during the game.”
Jones wasn’t the only Niner to trend positively on Thursday’s injury report. defensive tackle Kalia Davis (Hand), CJ West (thumb) and Kevin Givens (Pectoral) was also increased from limited to full involvement. perfect keeper Dominic Puny (knee) and receiver sky moore (ankle) also returned to practice on a limited basis after missing Wednesday.
wide receiver Ricky Pearsall (knee) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (calf) did not participate, Valdes-Scantling was a new addition from Wednesday.
