SANTA CLARA — Nick Bosa and George Kittle have reached the most consequential stage of their recoveries: three practices before the San Francisco 49ers board a Wednesday night flight to Melbourne.
The 49ers intend to introduce both players to team drills during the Monday-through-Wednesday practice block, but not with three consecutive days of full work. How their bodies respond will guide their availability for the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams at Melbourne Cricket Ground. The game begins Thursday, Sept. 10, at 5:35 p.m. PT, which is Friday, Sept. 11, at 10:35 a.m. in Melbourne.
“We're going to get them out there in these three days and hope it goes well,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “With three days before we go, we are balancing it out with both of them. We don't want them to go three days in a row, so we are going to do a little on some of these days and more on one.”
Bosa builds toward team work
Bosa is returning from the torn ACL he suffered in Week 3 last season. He opened training camp on the active roster and participated in individual work, but the 49ers shut him down in early August after soreness returned in his surgically repaired right knee. He was not on the field during the open portion of Monday's practice, according to The Associated Press.
General manager John Lynch said Bosa appeared ready when camp began, then needed to step back once the workload increased.
“The intention when he came back was that he was right,” Lynch said. “When he upped the activity, he got sore. So he backed off. We put together a really good plan that we believe will have them ready for Australia.”
Lynch added that Bosa understands his body and what he needs to be prepared. This week's controlled schedule gives the defensive end a chance to move beyond individual rehabilitation without asking his knee to absorb a full three-day workload immediately.
Kittle's decision comes before a long flight
Kittle ruptured his Achilles tendon in a Jan. 11 playoff victory at Philadelphia. He came off the physically unable to perform list Aug. 23, then remained limited to individual drills last week. The next step is competitive work with the offense.
The travel schedule makes his evaluation more complicated. San Francisco is due to arrive in Melbourne on Friday, hold a light workout Saturday and take Sunday off before beginning its normal three-practice game-week routine. Kittle has said a 16-hour flight would make little sense if he did not expect to play.
Shanahan did not set a firm deadline for Kittle's status, but he made clear that the club would rather reach a decision before departure.
“If we didn't think he was going to play though, or it's looking that way, I think it'd be much nicer to make that decision before we left instead of having to go through all that,” Shanahan said.
