Jesse Sapolu

Sapolu, who will turn 36 in March, was twice voted to the Pro Bowl and earned four Super Bowl rings, three of them as a starter at either left guard or center, while starting 170 regular-season and postseason games for the 49ers. He played high school football at Farrrington, and in college at the University of Hawaii.

"As far as heart surgery goes, it's relatively minor, and he's doing great," Dwight Clark, the 49ers' vice president and director of football operations, said last night.

Team doctors apparently knew for years that Sapolu had a small leak in a valve in his heart since he was quite young. It was not considered threatening, but recently the leak began growing, so doctors felt it was necessary to replace the valve.

Clark said he was not certain where the surgery took place, but said the team had gotten a report that Sapolu already was out of intensive care and that he was walking around.

Supposedly, once his recovery is complete, Sapolu can resume doing everything he was doing before the surgery. But given the nature of the surgery, his age and the 49ers' plans to make over parts of their offense, it seems most unlikely he would play again.