It’s a bad moment to be either a San Francisco 49ers fan, player, or coach. Just take a look at what happened in their last game against the Cleveland Browns, where Christian McCaffrey suffered an injury that put him in the hurt locker.
Such intense contact sport like pro football in the United States is prone to have lots of injuries that risk both the health of the player as well as the prospects for the team’s season. Lesions are a problem for teams without backups, and these things are costly to the organizations that pay players by the week.
It is McCaffrey’s turn to go to the hurt locker and let’s take a look at what is ahead for him as he faces a tough injury that might risk his season, that, coupled with Deebo Samuel’s shoulder injury, forces coach Kyle Shanahan to use his backups to develop a strategy against the Vikings next Monday.
What Happened To Christian McCaffrey?
San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey got injured while playing against the Cleveland Browns in the third quarter. McCaffrey suffered a knock, got sent to the sidelines, and was examined by the team, who was also checking out Deebo Samuel’s shoulder injury.
McCaffrey’s career has been full of injuries: Between 2020 and 2021, he only played ten games due to several types of lesions. Then, in 2022, he managed to play 17 games for the Panthers and 49ers. When the man is at his best, he runs the yards, scores the touchdowns, and does the catches, but when he suffers a knock, all his stats tank like Titanic.
What Kind of Lesion Does Christian McCaffrey Have?
McCaffrey’s injury was an oblique muscle injury. This is a muscular injury that affects a group of muscles located in the sides of our abdomens. The obliques are crucial for playing sports like football because they give players stability and the capacity to twist and bend.
Oblique injuries are delicate; depending on the gravity, they can debilitate the player and impact their performance as they can’t run as fast, change directions, twist, and cut positions. An injury like McCaffrey’s —though the medical team says nothing shows in the X-ray— results from forceful twisting, bending movements.
During that game against the Browns, McCaffrey engaged in several activities that risked the health of his obliques: He was cutting, sprinting, and overstretched, putting an excessive strain on his body, leading to a possible micro tear, that, albeit micro, can be painful.
A magnetic resonance imaging scanning could tell us more, but that’s up to the 49ers medical team to disclose. Furthermore, treatment for these kinds of lesions involves rest, lots of ice, the use of compressive elastic bands around the abdomen as well as painkillers, and anti-inflammatories, and progressively engage in physical therapy to return to the top of their game.
What Is Ahead For The San Francisco 49ers With McCaffrey And Samuel’s Injuries?
The game went in favor of the Cleveland Browns, and that puts the San Francisco 49ers still at the top of the NFC West, on top of the Seattle Seahawks, the Rams, and the Cardinals. The 49ers have a 5-1 record so far, and they have been undefeated at home.
For 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, things are not looking good. He went to face the press, told them that Cleveland played better than them, and he expressed his concern on the injuries that his roster was facing.
And despite that the San Francisco 49ers won’t play against the Vikings until next Monday, the recovery times for Deebo Samuels and Christian McCaffrey might take a little longer.
Unlike the Seahawks, who have a replacement problem with their lesions, the San Francisco 49ers have Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle, as well as Elijah Mitchell. Still, if those players suffer a lesion, that narrows down the possibilities of staying on top for coach Kyle Shanahan. In any case, fans and the organization are expectant of what might come out of this cycle of lesions that are affecting their roster.
