49ers tight end George Kittle missed only one game last season despite a fractured rib, issues with his shoulder and toe and a core muscle tear. After Super Bowl LVIII, Kittle underwent core muscle surgery.
He said on the “Bussin with the Boys” podcast on Tuesday that he lost almost 30 pounds post-surgery.
“I couldn’t lift,” Kittle said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “I couldn’t do any upper body because of my shoulder and my rib, and I couldn’t do lower [body] because of my core surgery. . . . I didn’t lift from the Super Bowl until like almost mid-March. I went a month without doing anything. I wasn’t supposed to do anything.”
Kittle, who played at 250 pounds last season, said his “anxiety levels were pretty high” when the self-proclaimed gym rat wasn’t able to lift.
“I knew a bunch of guys that had gone through it,” Kittle said. “I called some people and they were like, ‘Hey, you’re gonna feel great, just like the first month or so is going to suck, and after that, you’re going to come back.”
Kittle said he still needs to add another 10 pounds to get back to his playing weight.
“It was tough, but I’m feeling great now, which is fantastic,” Kittle said. “I’d say I’m almost back to 100 percent.”
Kittle, 30, is entering his eighth season and coming off his second All-Pro season.