It turns out 49ers tight end George Kittle is playing through a bone chip in his ankle. Head coach Kyle Shanahan informed the media of the extent of Kittle’s injury during his press conference after the 49ers’ 37-8 win over the Packers on Sunday night.
Kittle injured his ankle in the team’s Oct. 31 win in Arizona. He finished that game with six catches for 79 yards and a touchdown. That ankle, combined with a knee injury that Shanahan classified as a “popped capsule,” kept Kittle out of two consecutive games.
Shanahan told reporters the ankle is stable, and that Kittle will have to play through the pain.
The bone chip didn’t hamper him in his return Sunday night against the Packers. He posted six catches on six targets for 129 yards and a touchdown. He was effective in all three levels of the passing game and looked like his pre-injury self running through and past would-be tacklers.
Kittle’s unlikely to be fully healthy the rest of the year, but if he keeps playing like he did Sunday night, he and the 49ers should be just fine.