49ers' George Kittle says he plans to return Sunday vs. Falcons - ESPN

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — While San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle just opened his practice window this week and has a full 21 days to return from his hamstring injury before a decision must be made, he made his plans for Sunday night against the Atlanta Falcons clear on Thursday afternoon.

«I fully plan on playing on Sunday,» Kittle said. «As long as [coach] Kyle [Shanahan] lets me. It's up to him. But hopefully I'm out there. Which I think I will be.»

The 49ers have been without their star tight end since early in the Sept. 7 season opener against the Seattle Seahawks. After 22 snaps, Kittle injured his right hamstring while running a deep route down the right sideline with 10:06 left in the second quarter.

Kittle, speaking to media Thursday for the first time since the injury, said he knew something was wrong immediately and that the injury was actually a «full tear» of his hamstring.

«I just felt like a rubber band snapped in my hamstring,» Kittle said. «I was like, 'Ah, I've just got to go to the locker room after that one.'»

According to Kittle, he got a bit lucky with where the tear in his hamstring was, as it did not completely tear away from the bone. Because of that, Kittle's recovery time was significantly less than the three-to-six months that can be need for a more severe tear to heal.

Still, Kittle has been not so patiently waiting to return to the field after missing the past five games as the Niners have managed to jump out to a 4-2 start. The five contests Kittle has missed are already the second most he has missed in a season, trailing only 2020, when he missed eight games because of knee and foot injuries.

Based on league rules that require players on injured reserve to miss at least four games,