George Kittle, Nick Bosa Expected to Play Week 1

The 49ers are expected to have TE George Kittle and DE Nick Bosa back in the lineup for Week 1 against the Rams in Melbourne.

GM John Lynch confirmed both Kittle and Bosa are expected to make the trip to Australia and play in the season opener, according to Tim Kawakami.

Kittle has been working his way back from the torn Achilles he suffered during San Francisco’s Wild Card win over the Eagles in January. The 32-year-old was activated from the PUP list last month.

Kittle has practiced over the last two days, and his progress has continued moving in the right direction ahead of Week 1.

HC Kyle Shanahan previously indicated the 49ers did not want Kittle making the lengthy trip to Australia if the team didn’t believe he had a realistic chance to play.

Bosa is also expected to return after spending much of training camp sidelined while working his way back from a torn ACL.

He was cleared for training camp before dealing with ACL-related tendinitis that held him out of practice since early August.

Getting both Kittle and Bosa back would give San Francisco two massive boosts as they start the season against a major divisional opponent nearly 16 hours away.

The 49ers and Rams will face off in Melbourne for the NFL’s first regular-season game in Australia.