Testing reveals George Kittle suffered a small foot fracture, will reportedly miss 'at least' eight weeks

Kittle left Sunday's loss to the Seahawks due to the injury

The hits just keep on coming for the San Francisco 49ers. Not only did they lose a game to their division rivals, the Seattle Seahawks, on Sunday, they also lost quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who will be out indefinitely with a high-ankle sprain. Making matter worse, further testing on the injury that knocked star tight end George Kittle out of the game revealed that he has a small fracture in his foot.

According to a report from NFL Network, Kittle will miss extended time due to the injury. ESPN reported that Kittle will miss at least eight weeks, which means his season could be over. 

Kittle, who signed a five-year, $75 million contract extension during training camp, previously missed two games earlier this season with a high-ankle sprain of his own. He returned and was his usual dominant self over the past several weeks, catching 33 passes for 430 yards and two scores in Weeks 4 through 8. He had previously missed only three games in his NFL career -- one during his rookie season and two around this time last year, before the 49ers made their run to the Super Bowl. 

Earlier this year, the Niners largely relied on Jordan Reed at tight end in Kittle's absence. Reed is currently on injured reserve after suffering an injury in Week 3, but he has been designated to return and could be activated within the next few weeks. It's likely that Ross Dwelley will see additional snaps at tight end, while fullback Kyle Juszczyk should see increased usage as well. 

Kittle is key not only to the 49ers' passing game, but also their rushing attack. He's the best blocking tight end in the league, acting essentially as an additional offensive lineman. San Francisco may have to adjust some things in the run game to account for his absence. 

With running backs Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson Jr. on injured reserve and Tevin Coleman re-injured during Sunday's loss, they are down to only JaMycal Hasty and Jerick McKinnon as healthy backs. Typically, wideout Deebo Samuel would be available to pick up some rushes, but he is also our again after suffering an injury during the Niners' Week 7 victory over the Patriots. San Francisco may have to turn some of those designed wide receiver touches over to rookie receiver Brandon Aiyuk as a result.