San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle feels "fabulous" heading into the NFC Championship Game despite missing practice on Wednesday.

Kittle, a star performer for the Niners in their outstanding NFL season, appeared on the injury report and sat out with an ankle problem.

But the 26-year-old was in high spirits as he returned to the field on Thursday ahead of the title game against the Green Bay Packers.

Asked for an assessment of his ankle, Kittle told reporters at a news conference: "I feel fabulous, thanks for asking."

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan discussed the decision to keep Kittle on the sidelines the previous day, having earlier given no indication of the issue.

"The soreness did [surprise me] a little bit," Shanahan said. "That's why I didn't bring it up in here before practice [on Wednesday].

"We knew he had some wear and tear from the game. It was a little sorer than we thought before practice, so that's why we held him out."

However, Shanahan was confident there would be no further surprises on that front.

Shanahan replied when asked if he was concerned by Kittle's ankle before Sunday: "No, I'm not."

Kittle started 14 of San Francisco's 16 regular-season games, missing two weeks with knee and ankle problems in November.