San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk gave fans an update on his recovery via his YouTube channel one week after suffering a season-ending knee injury.
"I came to give you all a little update [after] one week [with] a torn ACL, MCL [and a] messed up meniscus," Aiyuk said via Joaquin Ruiz of NBC Sports Bay Area. "Hurting. Hur-ting. Hur-ting. I'm trying to walk around a little bit today, weight-bearing a little bit today -- a little bit. But [I'm] still scared to put more weight on there.
"Long-a-- week. We got a long way to go, but we're still blessed, we're still here."
Aiyuk sustained a torn ACL and MCL during the 49ers' Week 7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. General manager John Lynch recently explained that delaying surgery on such injuries is standard, allowing pre-surgery rehab to prepare the knee for the procedure.
"It feels like, when guys hurt their knees and they have to have surgery to repair it, they like them to do some rehab and get that ready, and he's kind of in that phase," Lynch said. "And I think in the next couple of weeks, we'll have the surgery and get on with the rehab."
Brandon Aiyuk is down on the field with an apparent injury. pic.twitter.com/hLO1hj04f3
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 20, 2024
Aiyuk remains focused on his recovery and looks forward to the next phase.
"I'm on to another week of treatment, another week of trying to get back right," Aiyuk said. "Surgery soon. But we're just going to keep grinding, man."
Aiyuk's season started slowly after signing a four-year, $120 million contract extension just before Week 1. Before his injury, he recorded 25 catches for 374 yards and failed to score a touchdown.
Lynch expressed disappointment in his star receiver's season ending prematurely, as he believed Aiyuk was on the verge of a breakout.
"That was crushing," Lynch said. "B.A. is a guy who, one of his greatest strengths, and with any player, he's been available. Going back to college, he's just not a guy who's been injured a lot. A very durable player, excellent player.
"The sad thing is he was really just starting to hit his stride, and I think was about to take off. I think he was going to have a big game in that game (against the Chiefs) and had his best week of practice. Really, I told him before the game it's the best week of practice I had seen a receiver as a member of the Niners in my time. He just looked like a big-time receiver out there who was about to bust out."
The 49ers, now 4-4, beat the Dallas Cowboys 30-24 on Sunday night. After their bye week, they will face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on November 10.
