Christian McCaffrey expected to make season debut for 49ers this week

San Francisco 49ers All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey has looked good in his first week back at practice after being sidelined by Achilles tendinitis and is on track to make his season debut Sunday against Tampa Bay.

McCaffrey returned to practice on Monday and has me it through three days of work on field without any setbacks, leing coach Kyle Shanahan to say he expects his star back to play.

“He’s been awesome se last two days,” Shanahan told rio station KNBR on Thursday. “You never kw (about) a setback or anything, but se two days have been great, and I expect to see him out re.”

McCaffrey has been dealing with Achilles tendinitis since early August. He missed almost all of training camp before returning to practice just before season opener. He was scratched at last minute before that game against New York Jets on Sept. 9 and n h a setback at practice Sept. 12.

He was placed on injured reserve two days later and spent past seven weeks resting and rehabilitating, including a trip to Germany for treatment.

49ers (4-4) are counting on McCaffrey’s return for a second-half boost. San Francisco has sputtered in first half of season with offense scoring 3.9 fewer points per game than last season.

“It’s been awesome,” quarterback Brock Purdy said of getting McCaffrey back. “Just what he brings to table and really just firing everybody else up around. All of us coming off bye week and feeling good and fresh and n you get (him) next to you in backfield, it’s been awesome. Looks great moving around and he’s trending in right direction. So, we’re excited to see what happens.”

Jordan Mason has done a good job filling in for McCaffrey with 685 yards rushing in eight games, but Niners have sorely missed reigning AP Offensive Player of Year in red zone and in passing game.

McCaffrey led NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimm and was tied for league le with 21 touchdowns as he helped le San Francisco to Super Bowl.

After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey h been healthy past two seasons.

He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he h a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimm in regular season and playoffs were third most for any player in two years in past 10 years.