The San Francisco 49ers have been dealing with the injury bug all year long.
They've lost two of their biggest defensive stars for the season in Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, and the offense has been dealt some tough blows as well.
George Kittle, Brock Purdy, Ricky Pearsall, and Jauan Jennings have all missed spurts of time with ailments, but one player who has yet to see the field in 2025 could be back sooner rather than later.
49ers' Brandon Aiyuk gets 'rough estimate' on season debut
Brandon Aiyuk, the Niners' No. 1 receiver, who has been recovering from a torn ACL suffered during the 2024 season, is expected to be back sometime around Week 10, according to head coach Kyle Shanahan.
"The 49ers head coach added that there’s no set date yet. Shanahan also estimated that Aiyuk would return in Week 6 in August. You may be aware that it is Week 7. While we’re sure to see some positive movement on Aiyuk over the next month, until we get word that the 49ers are going to open his 21-day return window, it’s hard to trust that he’s going to be back any time soon," wrote NBC Sports.
"We’d anticipate that Week 10 would be about the earliest he’d return based on how the 49ers have handled it thus far."
While the Niners have been able to stay afloat with all of their injuries so far, the reinforcements can't come soon enough.
Without Aiyuk, Kittle, Jennings, and Pearsall, San Francisco has been relying on the likes of Kendrick Bourne and Jake Tonges in their stead.
The depth players have performed well in the meantime, but if the 49ers want to keep a hold on the NFC West, they're going to need to continue to stack wins and hope to get their star players back on the field soon.
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- Mac Jones, George Kittle, Jauan Jennings get positive injury updates from 49ers GM
- George Kittle injury update: 49ers star gets estimated return date from Kyle Shanahan
- 49ers' breakout receiving option may be on the trade block with George Kittle's return looming