San Francisco 49ers' All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga makes his return to the practice field

San Francisco 49ers All-Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga sounds as if he's on track in his recovery from a torn ACL.

Hufanga suffered the season-ending injury in a Week 11 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in November last year.

That saw him miss the 49ers' run to Super Bowl 58, in which they suffered an overtime defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs, with 2023 third-round pick Ji'Ayir Brown stepping up in his absence.

Hufanga is set to partner Brown at safety in 2024, and concerns about a player coming off a serious knee injury partnering with a second-year player with only eight games (including postseason) to his name may decrease after defensive coordinator Nick Sorensen confirmed on Friday that the 2022 All-Pro has been back on the practice field.

"When he gets back we're going to be excited," Sorensen said at his first press conference as the defensive coordinator. 

"I know he's excited, he was out there on the field the other day. We're in phase two [of the offseason program] right now so we're on the field doing a little bit of work with our players and just talking to him, he's excited.

"When he's ready, he'll be ready and we'll be excited to have him back."