New George Kittle Injury Update, Latest Rumors on 49ers Star's Status, Potential Return Timeline

San Francisco 49ers fans got a positive update on their star tight end on Thursday.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, George Kittle visited Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed his Achilles surgery, in Los Angeles on Wednesday and had "an encouraging visit."

Schefter added that Kittle's recovery is ahead of schedule and could be available for the team's season-opener.

Kittle suffered a torn Achilles in the Niners' wild-card matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles in January, though he said the tear was clean and the surgery wasn't as invasive, setting up a possibility for a speedy recovery.

The typical recovery time for such an injury is eight to 10 months, which means Kittle would have to be on the earlier side of recovery to make the season opener.

The 49ers placed Kittle on the physically unable to perform list to start training camp, which perhaps indicated that things weren't moving along as well as they hoped, but general manager John Lynch gave a positive update a few weeks ago.

"George's rehab is coming tremendous," Lynch told reporters. "I know you guys have heard from him and he's doing really well. And that's very exciting. He's doing everything possible to be ready for week one. And we're thrilled with his progress."

With another good sign this week, it seems Kittle is trending towards being ready for Week 1, or at least shortly thereafter.

But San Francisco surely will be cautious about getting Kittle back on the field. He also said he's being cautious as he gets back into the swing of things.

"I have a chance," he said this week, per Matt Barrows of The Athletic. "We're running around a lot, hitting top speeds. Hopefully we're back in pads practicing sooner than later. Just trying to check the boxes and not be a dumbass."

Kittle, who appeared in 11 regular-season games last year, posted 628 yards and seven touchdowns. At his best, he's an All-Pro caliber tight end, and the Niners will look to get that version of him when he's back.