Christian McCaffrey injury update: Kyle Shanahan reveals expectations for 49ers RB vs. Buccaneers

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan had some great news that fans have been waiting all season to hear on Thursday evening. Star running back Christian McCaffrey is expected to play against the Buccaneers on Sunday, according to a report from Adam Schefter of ESPN.

It’ll be interesting to see how his body handles his first dose of game action, if he does actually get to see game action. The franchise has been extremely cautious about his Achilles issues. He’s been dealing with bilateral Achilles tendonitis for the first half of the 2024 campaign.

McCaffrey has not played at all this year as he’s been dealing with Achilles tendonitis. The reigning Offensive Player of the Year returned to practice this week, and the 49ers have 21 days to activate him to the 53-man active roster since he’s currently on injured reserve.

Kyle Shanahan updated his status last week

“He’s had no setbacks, so it looks like we’re on track,” Shanahan said last week as the 49ers headed into their bye week, per the team’s official website. “He’s going to hit it hard this week while we’re gone and kind of simulate some practice stuff for himself. As long as it all goes good, hopefully we’ll get him back in practice next week.”

Shanahan added: “The expectation is just see how he is when he gets back and then evaluate him as he goes,” Shanahan. “Of course, the hope is that everything just goes back to normal, and it’s perfect, that’s what we’re all striving for. But, you’ve got to play that out smartly, and you’ve got to evaluate that each day. What we see with our own eyes, what he tells us, and that’ll be something we constantly are working through.”

Christian McCaffrey has enjoyed a prolific NFL career

McCaffrey joined the 49ers in 2022 via trade from the Carolina Panthers. In 11 games with San Francisco that season, McCaffrey recorded 746 rushing yards, 464 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns. Last year, the former Stanford star won his first Offensive Player of the Year award after tallying 1,459 rushing yards, 564 receiving yards and 21 total touchdowns.

“Football is the biggest team game on the planet, and one guy can’t do anything without all 10 of the other guys,” McCaffrey told NBC Sports Bay Area in February. “That’s why this is a special team. You have All-Pros all over the field, and you got arguably the best mind in football calling plays.”

On3’s Brian Jones also contributed to this article.