Schefter: ‘Nobody knows’ when 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey will return

The San Francisco 49ers are hopeful about ramping up running back Christian McCaffrey's rehab this week, with head coach Kyle Shanahan indicating that could begin as soon as Monday. McCaffrey has been sidelined this season with Achilles tendinitis, compounded by a calf injury. The running back has been on injured reserve since September 14.

"Yeah, we'd like to start hitting his rehab here harder on Monday," Shanahan said last week.

Shanahan confirmed that McCaffrey underwent treatment during a recent trip to Germany but chose not to disclose specific details about the procedure.

On Monday morning, during his weekly appearance on the "Pat McAfee Show," ESPN insider Adam Schefter highlighted the uncertainty surrounding McCaffrey's return, suggesting that all recent reported timelines are purely speculative.

"Here's the truth of the matter: I don't think Christian McCaffrey knows when he's coming back," Schefter said. "I don't think the 49ers know when he's coming back. I don't think anybody knows right now when he's coming back. Now, they have talked and said that they're going to begin to ramp up Christian McCaffrey, potentially even this week, starting to get him back to see how he's feeling. And ideally, you'd like to hope and think that he's going to be feeling better, that the time off will have helped."

Schefter emphasized that no one knows how McCaffrey's calf and Achilles will respond to ramp-up. However, there's optimism that the injuries have quieted down during his rest period.

"We'll have to hit certain markers, and we'll try the ramp-up," general manager John Lynch said last week. "And, God willing, the thing has quieted down, and we can build him back up in a really smart and thoughtful way."

While the 49ers aren't considering McCaffrey's setbacks to be season-ending, Schefter cautioned that the uncertainty remains, and the possibility of him not playing this season shouldn't be completely ruled out.

"Nobody knows when he's coming back," Schefter reiterated. "Again, the hope is that, when he gets back on the practice field this week, that the pain has decreased, that the treatment he received in Germany, whatever it was, worked, and that the inflammation's calmed down, he feels better, and they get him back here in the coming weeks."

Schefter concluded, "Nobody—nobody—knows whether that's going to happen or not going to happen."