Christian McCaffrey Health, Injury Updates & History

McCaffrey returned to practice Sunday after missing a string of sessions due to tightness, the 49ers...

McCaffrey remains sidelined nearly a week after first missing practice due to what the 49ers described as tightness, head coach Kyle Shanahan previously downplayed concern but McCaffrey was again held out Sunday, with the team yet to provide a specific diagnosis or timetable for his return

A late change to the star's status, as he has been reduced to questionable for Sunday with a back injury. He appeared on the report this week with illness, but a back injury is new, and he is said to be good to go.

Played in Week 1 after all, it appears he may have sustained a calf cramp during practice rather than a strain and the 49ers were being cautious with his practice time, he played his full rotation and played well with 69 yds rushing on 22 carries and caught 9 passes for 73 yards

Appeared on the injury report as a limited participant for a calf issue, not Achilles tendonitis, but soft tissue injuries tend to linger, likely to miss time, continue to monitor

McCaffrey had an injury-riddled 2024 starting with a calf strain that developed into bilateral Achilles tendonitis, missed most of the season, returned in Week 10 for four games, then was shut down with a PCL sprain in his right knee, appears to be in a good place physically this offseason, participated fully in OTAs, ramped up work during minicamp, said he challenged his body and felt encouraged by the response, expected to be fully healthy for training camp

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Monday that the PCL injury Christian McCaffrey sustained on SNF in W13 could be season ending, only because of how late in the season it happened, if no playoff chase, he shouldn't play, we believe it could be a Grade 1 sprain, he may have sustained the injury on a shoestring tackle attempt where he fell directly on his right knee, he tried to continue after that play but was unable to and it appeared he injured himself on that play, but it was the shoestring the play prior, he will continue to be tested for a more official diagnosis but McCaffrey will miss some time

Head coach Kyle Shanahan said on Monday that the PCL injury Christian McCaffrey sustained on SNF in W13 could be season ending, he may have sustained the injury on a shoestring tackle attempt where he fell directly on his right knee, he tried to continue after that play but was unable to and it appeared he injured himself on that play, but it was the shoestring the play prior, he will continue to be tested for a more official diagnosis but McCaffrey will miss some time, it's just now known at this time how much time

Worry for right knee PCL sprain on a shoestring tackle in the first half of today's game, likely not season-ending, will not need surgery, possible meniscus injury, good news is that it is not a long-term injury and not an Achilles injury and will not need surgery, will need an MRI to determine exact nature of the injury, could be a 2-4 week injury

Worry for right knee PCL sprain on a shoestring tackle in the first half of today's game