San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree has already undergone surgery on the torn Achilles suffered at practice on Wednesday, according to NFL analyst Chris Mortensen, and he is expected to miss six months, per Adam Schefter.
Crabtree had a breakout season in 2012, catching 85 passes for 1,105 yards and nine touchdowns. He added 285 yards and three touchdowns in the playoffs, including 109 yards in the Super Bowl. Young quarterback Colin Kaepernick losing his top target as he enters his first full season as the team's starter would be a major disappointment.
However, Niners Nation's David Fucillo writes that with a six-month turnaround, Crabtree has potential to return this season.
I spoke with socalisteph given her medical knowledge, and she said such surgery often happens as much as a week after the injury so swelling can go down. In this case, a quick surgery would seem to mean swelling is not an issue. More importantly, the quick surgery would hopefully mean the 49ers are somewhat optimistic about Crabtree's potential return during the season. It doesn't guarantee a return, but if there is a chance and a quick surgery will not create further risk, why not do it?
Since he was drafted by the 49ers in the first round of the 2009 draft out of Texas Tech, Crabtree has caught 260 passes for 3,345 yards and 21 touchdowns. The 49ers were undoubtedly relying on the wide receiver building off his 2012 breakout year in 2013.
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