After suffering an Achilles tear in San Francisco’s wild-card victory over Philadelphia on Jan. 11, Pro Bowl tight end George Kittle was told by doctors that his injury is a “best-case scenario.”
Renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed Kittle’s surgery last week in Los Angeles and said it was a clean tear near the soleus muscle that is located higher on the Achilles tendon. This news should offer some hope that Kittle’s recovery may not be as prolonged as initially expected.
“They didn’t have to drill into my heel,” Kittle said. “Where the repair was, there’s more blood flow 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 said it “felt like someone put a shotgun up against my calf and pulled the trigger.” From this feeling, Kittle knew immediately that he’d just suffered a serious injury. The seven-time Pro Bowl tight end isn’t giving a timeline for his return, keeping it a surprise for now. When the injury occurred in Philadelphia, 49ers owner Jed York was in attendance and joined Kittle in the locker room after he was carted off the field.
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“Getting his support was absolutely fantastic,” Kittle said. “Just the fact that the team owner comes down to come give his condolences to you, and just like stays there for you, just really means what kind of place this is, and the people that are in this building. And it makes me really happy to be a Niner.”
Despite dealing with injuries during the regular season as well, playing in just 11 games, Kittle was named to his seventh Pro Bowl and caught 57 receptions for 628 yards and 7 touchdowns.
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