The San Francisco 49ers are hoping to have superstar running back Christian McCaffrey on the field at the start of November, it has been revealed.
McCaffrey is yet to play a single snap so far this season after injuring his Achilles in training camp, and he traveled to Germany this week for further medical advice.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is now reporting that the 49ers are hopeful their star man will be back on the field ‘at least by early November’, and there are hopes he could be running on hard ground this week.
Speaking on Sunday morning, Rapoport said: ‘McCaffrey traveled to Germany to get treatment on his Achilles injury – he’s dealing with Achilles tendonitis, still on injured reserve.
‘My understanding is that he now is back in the United States, it seems like the treatment went well, there is a chance he could run on grass this week, which would be a step forward.
‘For those who are worried about McCaffrey not playing at all this year, my understanding is the 49ers expect him back at least by early November. That is a good sign for McCaffrey.’
Coach Kyle Shanahan had confirmed earlier this week that McCaffrey made the trip to Europe in the hope of resolving an issue that has bothered him since early in training camp and has forced him onto injured reserve to start the season.
‘I know he’s going to see a specialist that I believe can help him with his Achilles process,’ Shanahan said Monday. ‘I think he’s doing that over these next few days, and hopefully, it’ll help.’
McCaffrey got hurt early in training camp and missed four weeks of practice before returning to the field on a limited basis before the season opener September 9 against the Jets.
He was a late scratch for that game and then went on injured reserve on September 14, two days after experiencing pain in the Achilles tendon following a practice.
He is eligible to return for a Week 6 game at Seattle but looks very unlikely to be healthy in time for that.
McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns, winning AP Offensive Player of the Year.
After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.
He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.
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