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Christian McCaffrey’s availability is once again a big question mark for the San Francisco 49ers just days before their season opener against the Seattle Seahawks.
However, the running back himself doesn’t seem worried at all about whether he will play in Seattle on Sunday.
“I always plan to play,” he told reporters, via ESPN. “I feel great about where I’m at. Unfortunately, when you have the injury history that I have, sometimes when you don’t practice, things get blown out of proportion. But like I said, I feel great.”
McCaffrey was deemed questionable to play in the 49ers’ injury report on Friday due to a calf issue. He was listed as a limited participant at practice on Thursday, and after not practicing on Friday, fans are wondering if this is déjà vu after last year’s injury debacle.
McCaffrey was listed as questionable entering Week 1 last season, and he insisted he was fine and ready to play against the New York Jets. But he instead landed on injured reserve as his calf tightness turned out to be bilateral Achilles tendinitis. McCaffrey ended up playing just four games last season.
So, as 49ers fans see a calf ailment again on the injury report, there is some skepticism leading into Sunday.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan didn’t go into detail about McCaffrey’s injury during his media availability, only confirming that he did not participate on Friday. McCaffrey, on the other hand, gave some background on what he was dealing with.
“I’m not supposed to go into anything that happened, but I felt like it was the smart thing to do to not finish the practice (Thursday),” McCaffrey said. “I’ve been there before and I’ve been my own worst enemy in situations like that, and I was proud of myself for not doing that again. Like I said, I went through a whole training camp. I feel great about where I’m at.”
During training camp, McCaffrey didn’t have any injury issues, as Shanahan and others praised his performance in practice. He didn’t play in any preseason games for obvious reasons, as San Francisco wanted to be cautious.
But the season begins on Sunday, and the 49ers’ playoff hopes are tied to No. 23 performing like he did two seasons ago when the team reached the Super Bowl.
“At the end of the day, if you can play, you play in the game,” he said. “It’s as simple as that.”
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