Christian McCaffrey, the top running back for the San Francisco 49ers, could miss his team’s game for the second straight week.

In an interview with reporters on Tuesday, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan stated that McCaffrey is doubtful for the team’s Week 2 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings after missing the season opener against the New York Jets.

Shanahan said that McCaffrey is now suffering from Achilles tendonitis. This kind of injury, which is essentially Achilles tendon discomfort, can take weeks to recover, and doing too much too soon might cause difficulties. Shanahan stated, “Tendonitis is the Achilles, and that stuff comes and goes.” “And you need to exercise extreme caution when it is misbehaving.”

Shanahan did, however, add that if it had been a playoff game rather than the first game of the season, McCaffrey would have played. McCaffrey had an outstanding season last year, rushing for a career-high 1,459 yards and 14 touchdowns, earning him the NFL Offensive Player of the Year honour. Along with leading the league in touches (339), yards (2,023), and touchdowns (21) from scrimmage, he also recorded 67 catches for 564 yards and seven touchdowns.

Fortunately, McCaffrey’s absence didn’t negatively affect the 49ers in their game against the Jets. In a 32-19 victory, third-year running back Jordan Mason entered the game as a starter and ran for 147 yards and a touchdown.