Nick Bosa’s health is one major component to the San Francisco 49ers’ return to Super Bowl contention in 2026. Bosa on Thursday while speaking with reporters had perhaps the best possible update on his return from a torn ACL.

San Francisco’s star DE sustained his ACL injury early in the 49ers’ Week 3 win over the Arizona Cardinals a season ago. The timing of his injury provided some hope that he may be able to return early in the 2026 campaign, but Bosa’s update was even more optimistic than that.

“I’m pretty far along,” Bosa said when asked about his recovery. “I’m out on the field doing a lot of stuff. Trying to just take it slow because I tend to push things quicker, and obviously I got injured pretty early last year so there’s plenty of time for me to really kind of lay the groundwork to be ready for a long season. So, yeah, it’s going really well and I plan on being ready.”

That Bosa is taking his time with his recovery indicates he’s tracking toward being ready early in the regular season. General manager John Lynch has also said the plan is for Bosa to return at some point during training camp.

Bosa talking about slowing down and not pushing things is a good sign that he’s at least trending toward preparing for a full 17-game season. Until the pads are on and we see how his body responds, however, there will be some question mark about his availability for the season opener in Australia. For now Bosa made that question mark quite a bit smaller.

More 49ers: Kyle Shanahan says 49ers will joint practice with these teams in 2026

This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers injuries: Nick Bosa has great news on ACL recovery