The San Francisco 49ers still do not have a finite timeline for when Christian McCaffrey will be able to return to action.

Speaking to reporters during a press conference on Monday, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan publicly confirmed that McCaffrey has bilateral Achilles tendinitis, meaning that he has the condition in both of his legs. San Francisco placed the star running back on injured reserve back on September 14, making him ineligible to return to the field until Week 6 at the earliest.

“During the time, he’s had it in both,” Shanahan said. “I think it started in one. You get to overcompensate it, went to the other. But mainly, one of them has just been bothering him. But he’s had it in both.”

McCaffrey recently traveled to Germany to receive a second opinion from a specialist. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, he underwent a treatment similar to PRP, during which doctors inject the patient’s own platelets into the injury site in hopes of speeding up the recovery process.

Addressing the decision to place McCaffrey on injured reserve after he was unable to suit up for the 49ers’ 32-19 win over the New York Jets in Week 1, general manager John Lynch said on KNBR: “So the plan was to give it the time to do that. And then at some point in a thoughtful way, to ramp him back up. So what he does early and where he goes, he’s got people who work on his body and have for a long time.

“We work and consult with him on that and now Christian’s back here and at some point, we’ll get back, we’ll have to hit certain markers and we’ll try the ramp up and God willing the thing has quieted down and we can build him back up in a really smart and thoughtful way.”

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The 49ers placed Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve on September 14

The 49ers placed Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve on September 14 ( 

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Getty Images)

It remains to be seen when, if at all, McCaffrey will be able to return this regular season. While appearing on Monday’s episode of ‘The Pat McAfee Show,’ ESPN’s Adam Schefter admitted that there are currently more questions than answers regarding his absence.

“I don’t think Christian McCaffrey knows when he’s coming back. I don’t think the 49ers know when he’s coming back. I don’t think anyone knows right now when he’s coming back,” he said.

“They are going to begin to ramp up Christian McCaffrey, potentially even this week, starting to get him back to see how he’s feeling. And ideally, you’d like to hope and think that he’s feeling better – that the time off will have helped – but who knows how the calf and Achilles is going to react. Nobody can say for certain.”

In the absence of McCaffrey – who propelled his team to a Super Bowl berth last year with 1,459 yards on the ground, 564 yards through the air and 21 total touchdowns – the 49ers have turned to backup Jordan Mason in the run game. The 25-year-old has made the most of his opportunity, amassing 447 rushing yards, 57 receiving yards and three touchdowns over San Francisco’s first four games.