San Francisco 49ers suffered a major blow after their star tight end George Kittle was put on injured reserve on Saturday with a calf injury that has been bothering him for weeks.

Although Kittle played through the injury last week in a 21-28 loss to Seattle Seahawks, he was unable to practice at all this week. The Niners decided to shut him down for at least the next three games in hopes he can be completely healed for the second half of the season.

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Kittle will be eligible to return on November 7 when the Niners host Arizona.

Kittle has lost time due to injury for the third year in a row. He missed two games due to a knee injury in 2019 and eight games due to knee and foot ailments last season.

In four games this season, Kittle has 19 receptions for 227 yards. Since being chosen in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft, he has 283 career receptions and 3,806 receiving yards, which is second only to Kansas City’s Travis Kelce.

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With the injury to Kittle, the Niners (2-2) will be without one of their best playmakers, as well as starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, when they face the Cardinals on Sunday.

In lieu of Garoppolo, who is also out with a calf injury, rookie Trey Lance will start as quarterback.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said Garoppolo would have played if he was healthy and will regain his starting role as soon as he is recovered.

The Niners invested heavily in Lance this offseason, trading three first-round picks to take him third overall in the draft to be the quarterback of the future.

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San Francisco wanted to be patient with Lance, who had only one season as a starter in college at lower-level North Dakota State. Lance played just seven snaps in a situational role the first three weeks before playing the entire second half in last week’s 28-14 loss to Seattle.

For Sunday’s game, San Francisco activated Nate Sudfeld from practice to serve as Lance’s backup. Tanner Hudson, a tight end, was also added to the active roster for the game.

Kittle’s position on the active roster was taken by Travis Benjamin, who was promoted from the practice squad.

With inputs from the Associated Press