Among the lost players was defensive lineman Solomon Thomas, who suffered tears to his ACL, lateral meniscus, and medial patellofemoral ligament just two plays after watching his teammate, Nick Bosa, also suffer a torn ACL.
While the damage was more significant than just a torn ACL, the surgeon who repaired the damage — Dr. Neal ElAttrache — in both players' knees recently spoke with The Athletic and sounded optimistic about their recoveries.
"They weren't just straight-forward, isolated ACL injuries," ElAttrache told Matt Barrows. "These were bigger injuries. But they're both ahead of where ordinarily we'd expect them to be. And so they're both going through their initial stages of functional performance training. So it's looking very promising for both of those guys."
This week, Thomas spoke with Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area and provided an update on his rehab. Thomas and Bosa have been keeping in touch, sending each other messages of encouragement and sharing their progress.
Maiocco asked Thomas if both he and Bosa expect to be ready by Week 1 of the 2021 season.
"Oh, definitely," Thomas responded. "I have no doubt in my mind. There's no reason to have us back for OTAs, but if you wanted us back for OTAs, I believe both of us are at a place where we could be back for that. But we're athletes. We're competitors. We want to be back as soon as possible."
Thomas adds that he and Bosa are getting close to starting to jog and are focused on strengthening their legs right now.
The defensive lineman was also asked about his NFL future. Will that be with the 49ers? Thomas is scheduled to become a free agent next month.
"I'm excited for free agency," Thomas said. "I love the Niners, and I love the coaches there. I love the program there. If that works out, that would be amazing. If not, I'm excited to test free agency. I'm excited to see what situation is appropriate for me.
"I'm going into free agency, just trying to find the perfect situation for me, where I can excel, and play where I need to play, just to be me. That's my goal because I really believe I'm just getting started."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Thomas below. It begins at about the 24:45 mark.
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