George Kittle injured his ankle in a win over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday. Cooper Neill / Getty Images
The playoffs were on San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch’s mind Friday morning. While he said linebacker Fred Warner might make it back for a playoff game, tight end George Kittle will be a game-time decision Sunday night after injuring his ankle against the Indianapolis Colts.
Lynch said the short week — the 49ers arrived back from Indianapolis at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday — might make it tough for Kittle to get back on the field this weekend against the Chicago Bears. And he may want to make sure the ankle is fully healed for the postseason. But …
“The things we have going for us are it wasn’t the dreaded high-ankle sprain,” Lynch said on his weekly KNBR radio show. “It was the low-ankle sprain. George is recovering really well. Is he going to get there? We don’t know. George is the type of player where you probably give him that latitude, where hey, we’ll give you all the way up to the game.”
Lynch mentioned how much confidence the 49ers have in backup tight ends Luke Farrell and Jake Tonges.
“We’ll see where this thing goes,” Lynch said. “George is doing everything he can, just like Fred. That will be one that goes right down to Sunday evening.”
As for Warner, he broke his ankle on Oct. 12, had surgery and was believed to be out for the season. But no one told Warner, who might be targeting a return to the NFC Championship if the 11-4 49ers make it that far.
“Fred’s been working incredibly hard,” Lynch said. “He’s been attacking it in every which way. He’s been making really good progress. I’ve said this consistently. It would be well ahead of the original timeline that we were given. …
“I think it’s made a lot of people re-examine, ‘Hey, would this be possible?’ I think that’s a great thing. So, I’m watching him. I’ve consistently said it, I won’t put anything past him. I think it’s a thing that remains to be seen. I know he’s putting his heart and soul, and his incredible work ethic every day in effort to do that.”
