The 49ers will indeed be without Christian McCaffrey for the near future.
They placed the superstar running back on injured reserve with calf tightness and Achilles tendinitis, according to ESPN.
McCaffrey, 28, will now miss at least the next four games.
He has been dealing with the injury in recent weeks, but was expected to be ready for the team’s opener before he was a surprise scratch in the 49ers’ 32-19 win over the Jets.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Friday had given the discouraging update that the 49ers were considering injured reserve, and the team made the move on Saturday.
He had been a limited participant in practice this week.
“It’s something we’re considering now,” Shanahan said Friday. “[Thursday] was his worst day. It’s on and off, but with yesterday having the most pain. It’s something we’re going to be discussing together in the next 24 hours.”
Without McCaffrey, 49ers backup Jordan Mason shined in the opener, rushing for 147 yards and a touchdown and averaging 5.3 yards per carry.
Earlier in the week, McCaffrey was confident he’d be able to play before the team ruled him out for Week 2 and subsequently placed him on injured reserve.
“My mindset every week is I’m going to play,” McCaffrey said on Wednesday. “There’s been weeks where I’ll go the full week, not even feeling good enough to do the walk-through, and then I wake up and the body’s capable of a lot of cool things. Mentally, I’m always prepared to play, and then I woke up and it was a group decision, a very tough one.
“I hate not playing, but I look at it as a chess move and something that hopefully you can benefit from the rest of the season.”
