The San Francisco 49ers conquered the Lucas Oil Stadium with a 48-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Week 16. Head coach Kyle Shanahan was a bit disappointed as the tight end George Kittle exited the game with an ankle injury.

“He played with it for a while and then just got too stiff. So (we’ll) find out tomorrow,” Shanahan said in his post-game conference.

During the third quarter of the game, he was cutting to his left while the Colts’ cornerback Jaylon Jones was on his tail. Just as he took a few steps to his left, he started limping on his left ankle, scaring the fans. He sat on the sidelines, holding his head with his hands in disbelief.

While Shanahan is waiting for further medical evaluation, injury experts gave their take on the injury. DPT Jeff Mueller shared the video of the injury play on X and mentioned that George Kittle must have injured his ankle earlier in the game. But he aggravated the left ankle sprain in the third quarter.

Kittle explained in his post-game conference that he injured his ankle on a hip drop tackle in the second quarter, which got worse when they taped it up. While he wasn’t concerned about his ankle, everyone in the building was.

The fans wanted him to come back. After the running back Christian McCaffrey scored his final touchdown against the Colts, Kittle ran along the sidelines with a helmet on. However, Kyle Shanahan didn’t want to take further risks and kept him out of the remaining game.

It becomes even more concerning as Kittle suffered a grade 3 thigh hamstring tear in the season opener against the Seattle Seahawks and missed five games. The Niners want to play the Super Bowl at their home and need the tight end to be fully healthy. He showed glimpses of his talent in the Week 16 win.

George Kittle reminds fans why he is the 49ers’ superstar

While McCaffrey is the best performer this season, he also needs George Kittle to make those scoring runs. Together, they belittle rivals, getting touchdowns at will. On the road win, on the 2nd & 4 play at Colts 11, quarterback Brock Purdy ran to his right and made a desperate throw to Kittle in the end zone.

The tight end made no mistake and caught the pass successfully. George Kittle gripped the ball close to his chest, even though safety Camryn Bynum came from the left and safety Nick Cross ran in from the right to stop. The 49ers got a touchdown. Overall, he caught seven passes on eight targets for 115 yards and one touchdown.

The Niners went on a roll in the second half. They entered the third quarter with a 24-17 score but stretched the lead to 34-20 by the end of the quarter. While Kittle got injured and went to the sidelines, his teammates scored two more touchdowns and won the game 48-27.

With this win, they now have 11 wins and sit in second place in the NFC West. It remains to be seen how Kyle Shanahan manages Kittle in the remaining two games while pushing for the top spot in the division.