San Francisco's Aldon Smith said that the hip injury that had him limping around the sidelines of practices is healing quickly, and he could return for one of the 49ers' two remaining preseason games, according to CSN Bay Area.

The outside linebacker was back at practice on Monday, and he said he's improving pretty quickly from a deep hip bruise that he suffered in the preseason opener on Aug. 10. The second-year pro could see time this Sunday against the Denver Broncos or Aug. 30 against the San Diego Chargers, should head coach Jim Harbaugh be willing to play him.

Smith was still limping on Monday, but that's a vast improvement considering he was walking with the help of a cane not long ago, the San Jose Mercury News reports.

As a rookie last season, Smith had a big role on San Francisco's hard-hitting defense. He recorded 14 sacks and 37 tackles in 2011.

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