When Fred Warner suffered a devastating broken and dislocated ankle in Week 6, initial expectations pointed toward a methodical, nine-month recovery targeting the 2026 training camp. Instead, the San Francisco 49ers star linebacker accelerated his timeline by hitting the pool.
In late November, Warner partnered with Sage Hopkins, the women’s swim and dive coach at San Jose State University, to use pool work to maintain his stamina and restore flexibility to his stiff ankle, according to a new story from The Athletic’s Matt Barrows. At the start, Hopkins noted that Warner moved through the water with very little efficiency, characterizing him as being at “Level 1 — not drowning.”
But the results were almost instant, as Warner noted that the water workouts immediately impacted the physical state of his ankle.
“I was constantly dealing with swelling,” Warner explained. “So when I would put it in the water and just kick, it was a natural flushing of the ankle. Every time I got out of the water, my ankle looked so much better than it did going in.”
Hopkins treated the rehab like a football regimen, timing Warner’s laps and hooking him up to a “power tower” resistance device that utilizes a harness and a 15-gallon bucket-and-pulley system. Warner routinely trained with a nearly full bucket of water, pulling weight that Hopkins noted some collegiate sprinters struggle to handle.
Warner trained in the pool two days a week for 45 minutes to an hour, even pulling consecutive sessions on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. According to Hopkins, Warner’s learning curve was exponential, eventually pacing ahead of lifelong swimmers.
“He swims better than a lot of Division I water polo players,” Hopkins said.
Though Warner is now fully cleared for football activities, he continues to swim at San Jose State one day a week to maintain his condition.
“I always dread going over there,” Warner said. “Because I know it’s going to whup my ass. But at the end of day when I get done, I’m so glad I did it. Because it’s a great workout.”
Thanks to this training, Warner is a full-go for the 49ers’ offseason workouts. The 49ers need their star inside linebacker back, too, after the defense nearly collapsed throughout the season without him and then did in the 41-6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC title game.
This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: Fred Warner revealed what helped him speed up his ankle recovery
Reporting by Oliver G., Niners Wire / Niners Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
