49ers' George Kittle eyes return to practice, opener in Australia - ESPN

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — With 17 days until the flight that will take the San Francisco 49ers to Australia, tight end George Kittle, who suffered a torn right Achilles in January, still maintains hope that he'll be ready to board that airplane and play in the regular-season opener against the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 10.

On Sunday, Kittle said it's still possible that he will be back on the practice field soon.

«I have a chance,» Kittle said while speaking to Bay Area media for about 15 minutes. «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 was referring to the tedious rehabilitation process that could have him ready for a Week 1 return after sustaining the injury against the Philadelphia Eagles on Jan. 11.

As Kittle explained Sunday, any deviation from the plan he got from Dr. Neal ElAttrache and his staff could disrupt his efforts to get back on the field as soon as possible. That recovery plan, according to Kittle, is «the most boring rehab in the entire world.»

For most of the process, Kittle said he has had to focus on doing as many seated and standing calf raises as possible every day. His workouts, however, have taken on a more football-specific approach of late.

As the Niners practiced last week, Kittle was running and cutting at nearly full speed while running routes and catching passes from a team staffer on a side field. On Sunday, Kittle said he's hitting the speed benchmarks set for him on the GPS and is «pretty close» to hitting the same speed numbers he hit before the injury.

Kittle said he has a target date in mind for returning to practice but declined to share it. He added that he's