On Tuesday, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan joined Bay Area radio station KNBR to provide injury updates before the team heads into its bye week.
Much of the focus has been on star running back Christian McCaffrey, who the team hopes will begin practicing again next week in preparation for their Week 10 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“We hope it does go that way,” Shanahan said. “It’s been trending that way, and it’s been ever since we shut him down and gone through these real slow steps. It’s getting there. He hasn’t had a setback, and hopefully, he has a real good week, and we can get him into practice next week, which obviously would be huge for us.”
The coach provided updates on several other players, starting with linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who is working toward a return from the torn Achilles he suffered in February during the Super Bowl.
“I think Dre is getting close,” Shanahan noted. “I don’t want to put a timetable on it. I’d probably be surprised [if it was] right after the bye week, but I do think after that, it’ll be close to being week-to-week, which means, if everything goes right, that’ll be a sooner week than later week for whatever diagnosis that is.”
Similarly, defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos, currently on injured reserve with a knee injury, is expected to be on a week-to-week timetable following the bye.
“I don’t know if Yetur has a chance after the bye week, but I think similar, that if he’s not ready for that, it’ll be week-to-week after that,” Shanahan explained. “And hopefully, at least by Seattle (Week 11); that’s what we’re hoping for.”
Shanahan also believes safety Talanoa Hufanga could return and play with a cast, adding, “But we’ve got to see. Asking a player to play with a cast, that can be a very tough situation for the player. And so we’d have to feel how comfortable he was with that to know how it’ll go.”
Lastly, Shanahan mentioned wide receiver Jauan Jennings, who has missed the last two games with a hip injury, as likely to return next week. Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave remains a possibility for the playoffs, and defensive tackle Kevin Givens, who didn’t play against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, is also close to returning.
