As the San Francisco 49ers prepare for Week 4 against the New England Patriots, fans are still concerned about the injury to star running back Christian McCaffrey. With the latest update being that McCaffrey went to Germany to see a specialist on his Achilles tendinitis, general manager John Lynch provides an update that gives a little more insight into the issue.

Talking to KNBR in San Francisco, Lynch would say that the plan was always to ease him back into being 100 percent healthy before getting him in game shape for a return. He would also address the trip to Germany to see specialists as he mentioned that the running back has returned.

“We needed to quiet it down,” Lynch said. “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… What he does and where he goes, he's got people who work on his body and have for a long time… Now he's back here and we'll have to hit certain markers and try the ramp up. God willing the thing has quieted down and we can build him up in a smart thoughtful way.”

49ers' Christian McCaffrey and his injury has been a confusing journey

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) watches injured from the sidelines in the second quarter against the New York Jets at Levi's Stadium.
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The 49ers placed McCaffrey on IR after Week 2, meaning the earliest he could be available would be Week 6 against the Seattle. Seahawks. However, it is not known if there will be any setbacks as he missed the entire preseason and even 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan didn't know when he could be back.

“We're dealing with tendonitis so, not one person knows,” Shanahan said. “He doesn't know. We don't know and take it day by day. By putting him on IR, it’s at least four weeks so it'll give him some time to rest and protect him from himself. Us too. No matter how he's feeling.”

It's possible that the team didn't know the severity as Shanahan even said after the opener vs. the New York Jets that if it was a playoff game, McCaffrey could've played.

“Definitely, I believe if it was a playoff game, he would've played,” Shanahan said on McCaffrey. “But it's not just the calf, it's the Achilles and the Achilles is tendonitis and that stuff comes and goes. When it is acting up, it's something you've got to be very careful about. Christian's very diligent about that stuff. And if it was a playoff game, he made it very clear to me, he believed he could go. But when you hear that type of stuff and it's not a playoff game and it's Week 1, and especially when you're dealing with the lower extremities like that it, it was a tough decision. But hearing all the words and stuff, in the long run it made it easy.”

At any rate, the 49ers prepare to stay afloat and face the Patriots Sunday.