SAN Francisco 49ers star George Kittle revealed the toll his off-season recovery took on him.
Kittle, 30, is a five-time Pro Bowl tight end and one of the best at his position in the NFL.
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He finished the 2023 season with 1,020 receiving yards and six touchdowns, resulting in him being named First-Team All-Pro for the second time in his career.
However, Kittle’s excellent season took its toll on his body.
During a recent appearance on Working with the boys podcast, he revealed that after the Super Bowl LVIII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in February, he was “crushed,” leaving him with multiple injuries to deal with.
Along with a torn collateral ligament in his big toe and a core injury, Kittle said he also refracted a rib during the Super Bowl.
If that wasn’t enough, Kittle also said that although his “shoulders had been messed up since high school,” during the Super Bowl he aggravated the situation, leaving him with a sprained AC and a chipped bone.
As a result of his injuries and subsequent recoveries, he said he ended up losing “almost 30 pounds.”
“I couldn’t get up,” Kittle said.
“I couldn’t do any upper body because of my shoulder and ribs, and I couldn’t do the lower body [body] because of my central surgery…
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“I didn’t get out of the Super Bowl until almost mid-March.
“I didn’t do anything for a month. I wasn’t supposed to do anything… My anxiety levels were really high.”
Fortunately for Kittle, he is now on the road to recovery and plans to gain another 10 pounds.
“It was difficult but I’m feeling great now, which is fantastic,” he said.
“I’d say I’m almost back to 100 percent.”
And it appears Kittle’s recovery has brought another unexpected benefit.
He explained that with his shoulder now “almost healed,” he is once again able to throw a football, adding that his labrum no longer hurts.
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“It’s like a kid getting hit in the head and you wake up with a superpower,” Kittle joked.
Now with a new “superpower” in his arsenal, Kittle will return for his eighth NFL season on July 23 when training camp begins.
San Francisco will begin its preseason at the Tennessee Titans on August 10.
The regular season will begin on September 9th when they host the New York Jets.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
