George Kittle reportedly avoided high ankle sprain, which is good news for 49ers ahead of critical stretch run of season
The San Francisco 49ers reportedly received relatively good news Tuesday ahead of the critical stretch run of their season.
Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, All-Pro tight end George Kittle avoided a high ankle sprain in Monday's win over the Indianapolis Colts. Kittle is dealing with a "mid-to-low ankle sprain," per the report, which still leaves his status in doubt ahead of Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears.
But he's reportedly avoided the high ankle sprain diagnosis that frequently comes with multi-week absences.
When healthy this season, Kittle has been at his peak form and among the best tight ends in the NFL. He was in the midst of one of his best games of the season when he left late in the third quarter Monday night with an ankle injury.
The precise nature of the injury was not clear in the aftermath of San Francisco's 48-27 win. Kittle tallied a game-high 7 catches for 115 yards and 1 touchdown prior to his exit.
Despite missing five games with injury, Kittle has remained on of the NFL's most productive tight ends. In 10 games, he has 52 catches for 599 yards and 7 touchdowns. The effort earned Kittle his seventh career Pro Bowl nod and fifth straight earlier Tuesday.
The 49ers improved to 11-4 with Monday's win and now control their path to the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs. If they beat the Bears on Sunday and the Seahawks in their Week 18 season finale, they'll overtake Seattle for the top spot in the conference.
Kittle is key to San Francisco's offensive success and its hopes of securing that No. 1 seed.