San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan has revealed star running back Christian McCaffrey is suffering from tendinitis in his Achilles as well as a calf injury and they will need to be “very careful” with him moving forward.
McCaffrey missed the Niners’ Week 1 game against the New York Jets, which they won 32-19 thanks in part to a strong display from his deputy Jordan Mason, and is questionable for Sunday’s road game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Shanahan said the injury to the calf was similar to the one that saw him listed on the injury report prior to the playoff game against Green Bay in January, a game McCaffrey played in.
He added that McCaffrey would probably have suited up against the Jets if the match-up had come in the off-season.
Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Shanahan said: “I believe they’re similar [injuries], I know it was a calf then and it’s a calf now.
“You guys can ask Christian more on that. Definitely, I believe if it was a playoff game he would’ve played. It’s not just the calf, it’s the Achilles, and the Achilles is tendinitis, and that stuff comes and goes. And when it is acting up it’s something you’ve got to be very careful about. Christian is very diligent about that stuff.
“If it was a playoff game, he made it very clear to me he believed he could go. But when you hear that type of stuff, and it’s not a playoff game, and it’s Week One, especially when you’re dealing with the lower extremities like that, it was a tough decision, but hearing all the words and stuff, in the long run it made it easy.”
The game with the Vikings will take place on an artificial pitch, as will the Week 3 clash with the Los Angeles Rams, increasing the likelihood that McCaffrey will not return until the clash with the New England Patriots on September 29.
