Second-year defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw landed on injured reserve on October 30 after having season-ending knee surgery. The injury, which initially occurred on December 20, 2020, against the Dallas Cowboys, has plagued him all season.
"It was just an irritant that wouldn't go away," San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch recently said on KNBR radio. "They went in there ... and they really feel like they found the root cause. I think we're going to be releasing a statement because it is a complicated case. I don't want to screw it up. But he's going to be out [for] some time.
"But the good news is we think we'll have the Javon Kinlaw we all thought we were getting, in terms of what he'll be able to do physically when training camp starts next year. And that's a good thing for us."
Today, the 49ers medical staff, Dr. Tim McAdams, and Dr. Neal ElAttrache released the following joint statement.
"49ers defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw recently underwent successful surgery to repair his right knee. As persistent symptoms limited Javon's performance, we consulted with medical experts and determined that the best course of action was to perform surgery. Evaluation of the knee in surgery confirmed suspicions that the ACL had chronic changes that would be best treated with ACL reconstruction. This procedure gives him the best opportunity to make a full recovery and return to playing football in 2022."