San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey suffers from bilateral Achilles tendinitis, meaning he is dealing with the medical issue in both legs.
McCaffrey recently took a flight to Germany to receive treatment for an injury that has kept him out since Week 2 of this NFL season.
Now, it has been revealed through multiple reports that the Niners’ star running back is dealing with the same issue in both legs.
Achilles tendonitis is described by the Mayo Clinic as “an overuse injury to the Achilles tendon, the band of tissue that connects the calf muscles at the back of the leg to the heel bone.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, most cases can be treated with home care, while more severe cases can lead to Achilles tendon ruptures that may require surgery.
San Francisco running back Christian McCaffrey has Achilles tendonitis in both legs
The runner recently returned from a trip to Germany to receive treatment on his legs.
The team said they hoped to have a “better idea” about the running back’s status over the course of the next few weeks, with the plan to ramp up his rehabilitation to see how his body will respond.
“And now, we’re going to start working harder on rehab and trying to get him back to football and see how he responds,” Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan said last week. ‘So we’ll see how he responds here. We’ve let him rest here for a couple of weeks.
It’s unclear when McCaffrey is expected to return; ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that even the running back himself doesn’t know when he will return.
“I don’t think Christian McCaffrey knows when he’ll be back. I don’t think the 49ers know when he’ll be back. “I don’t think anyone knows now when he’s coming back,” Schefter said Monday on ‘The Pat McAfee Show.’
“They’re going to start reinforcing Christian McCaffrey, potentially even this week, starting to get him back to see how he feels.”
And ideally, you’d like to hope and think that he’s feeling better, that the time off will have helped, but who knows how the calf and Achilles tendon will react. Nobody can say with certainty.
While it is unclear when he will return, Schefter also reported that the idea of losing McCaffrey for the season “never occurred to” San Francisco.
This isn’t the first time the San Francisco star has dealt with lower-body injuries: He suffered a hamstring injury and an ankle injury in the 2021 season as a member of the Carolina Panthers.
McCaffrey will not be able to return until at least Week 6 against Seattle due to his IR status.
McCaffrey was placed on injured reserve by the team ahead of Week 2, meaning, at a minimum, he won’t see the field again until at least Week 6 against the Seattle Seahawks.
This injury update comes after the Niners suffered multiple injury scares to key position players.
Just two weeks ago, San Francisco suffered a loss when the team lost star tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
However, both players returned to action last Sunday to help the team beat the New England Patriots.