49ers outside linebacker Aldon Smith had surgery on a torn labrum in his shoulder earlier in the offseason, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Friday.
The 23-year-old Smith recorded an NFC-high 19.5 sacks last season, but none after Dec. 9 -- a six-game span that included the playoffs. He was on the injury report with a shoulder injury in the 49ers’ last nine games (six regular-season, three postseason).
Per Rapoport, the labrum is the shoulder injury that was listed on the injury report and that Smith played with down the stretch, and there isn’t a set schedule for his return.
At the Super Bowl, Smith chalked up his late-season struggles getting sacks to drawing more attention from the opposition.
In February, he told the San Jose Mercury News that the injury was a “bad stinger.” He also participated in MMA training.
UPDATE 10:32 P.M. ET: Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com also reports, citing a league source, that the injury that required surgery was suffered in-season.