49ers say WR Brandon Aiyuk (knee) ‘not close’ to return

San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk is “not close” to returning from the physically unable to perform list, general manager John Lynch said Thursday.

The club originally had targeted a Week 6 return for the 27-year-old veteran, who still is rehabbing a torn right ACL sustained last October.

Lynch said there have been no setbacks, explaining it is taking longer than expected because his tear wasn’t “clean” and there was other damage in the knee.

Aiyuk posted 25 receptions for 374 yards and no touchdowns over seven games last season after developing into a star over the previous two campaigns.

He caught a career-high 78 passes for 1,015 yards and a career-best eight TDs in 2022, and hauled in 75 catches for a career-high 1,342 yards in 2023.

Drafted in the first round (25th overall) in 2020, Aiyuk has recorded 294 receptions for 4,305 yards and 25 TDs in 69 games (67 starts) with the 49ers.

–Field Level Media

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Q: Have you talked to Nick Bosa since he got the news? How’s he doing? Also, DL Yetur Gross-Matos, any update on how soon or how long it’ll be before he returns back to the field?

KS: “I talked to Nick last night. You know, it wasn’t confirmed until this morning. I haven’t been able to see him yet today, but talked to him last night, he had a pretty good idea of what we were going to find out today. But obviously he is bummed out and down, but Nick can handle anything and he is going to handle it like he always does, which will be great.”

“But obviously he was bummed out from it not being able to finish out this year, and especially how good of a year he was having so far. And Yetur has been out there the last three weeks, so hopefully as he keeps going and doesn’t have any setbacks, hopefully he can continue to progress with that and handle more reps. But, we’ve got to see how that goes.”

Read More:

49ers HC Kyle Shanahan on Bosa’s season-ending injury, added reliance on youth

Upcoming San Francisco 49ers Schedule

• Sunday, September 28th – vs. Jacksonville Jaguars – 1:05 PM PT
• Thursday, October 2nd – @ Los Angeles Rams – 5:15 PM PT
• Sunday, October 12th – @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers – 10:00 AM PT
• Sunday, October 19th – vs. Atlanta Falcons – 5:20 PM PT
• Sunday, October 26th – @ Houston Texans – 10:00 AM PT

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