George Kittle tore his Achilles back in January, the kind of injury that usually wipes out half a season and then some. Instead, he's been quietly beating the clock for months, and Wednesday brought the biggest green light yet.
Per Adam Schefter, Kittle visited Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles, the same surgeon who repaired the torn Achilles in January, and the checkup went well. Schefter's report says Kittle remains ahead of schedule and now has a legitimate chance to suit up for the 49ers' regular-season opener against the Rams.
That opener isn't just any Week 1 game. San Francisco and Los Angeles are set to kick off the season in Melbourne, Australia, in the NFL's first-ever regular-season game there, with the 49ers reportedly planning to fly out a full week early to deal with the roughly 17-hour time difference. For a team already dealing with the logistics of playing on the other side of the planet, getting its best offensive weapon back for the trip would be a massive boost.
The recovery timeline itself has been notable from the start. Kittle reportedly tore the tendon high, near the soleus, which doctors have called a best-case version of the injury because of better blood flow to the area, sparing him a more invasive drilling procedure. He spent roughly 10 to 11 weeks on crutches before getting back to walking unaided by April, and he's said all along that he was targeting a return well before the midseason point some worried this injury would force.
None of this locks in an actual Week 1 appearance. Achilles injuries are notoriously unpredictable in the final stretch of rehab, and the 49ers will surely be cautious with a guy this important to their offense before flying him halfway around the world. But an encouraging report from the surgeon who did the repair, on top of a recovery that's already outpacing expectations, is about as good a sign as San Francisco could ask for heading into camp.