Christian McCaffrey missed the first four games of the season for the San Francisco 49ers due to bilateral Achilles tendonitis, meaning he suffers from disease in both tendons. He was waived shortly before the team’s Monday night game in Week 1 and was placed on injured reserve shortly thereafter.

The 2023 rushing yardage leader has traveled all the way to Germany this season for consultation on his ailment, with “early November” being the most commonly mentioned timeline ahead of the latest update from ESPN’s Adam Schefter . This update, released Saturday evening, says McCaffrey’s Achilles tendon injury has not flared up after on-field work at Niners practice this week.

Schefter reports that McCaffrey could return on October 20 against the Kansas City Chiefs if he continues this trend. This game will be a home game for the Niners. Even if he were willing, Schefter hinted that the Niners could proceed with extreme caution:

“But more prudently, the 49ers could elect to use McCaffrey for both games and then give him a week off so he can continue to prepare for their next game at Tampa Bay on Nov. 10,” Schefter said.

Meanwhile, Jordan Mason has moved in as the volume back with a league-leading 91 attempts in Week 5. He is averaging 111.8 yards per game and has scored three touchdowns this year.