Missing their Offensive Player of the Year for the first 9 weeks has hurt the 49ers pretty badly. The team that used to lead the red zone offense with Christian McCaffrey running the routes has massively regressed without him on the offense, as they find themselves 27th for converting their offensive drives.

With only 48.6% success every time the Niners breach the 20-yard line, the 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan can’t wait to add McCaffrey to his plans. Opening up on his thoughts of having McCaffrey back into contention, Shanahan couldn’t hold his excitement in the latest episode of 49ers Game Plan, “We’ll see how it goes with Christian. You don’t just sit there and split everything up just to do it. You keep the people out there that gives you the best chance to win on each play.”

Well, CMC does give them a massive boost in an offense that has struggled to score TDs this season. He is coming off a campaign that saw him score 21 TDs while racking up 2,023 yards. Without him, it isn’t like the 49ers have suffered to keep up their running game. Christian’s backup, Jordan Mason, has filled up exceptionally well, having rushed for 685 yards and 3 TDs. Although the injuries didn’t even spare Mason (shoulder), rookie RB Isaac Guerendo is yet another bright spot.

His 5 games have already seen him rush for 227 yards on 37 carries. And to further strengthen his credibility on the Niners’ offense, his best game came against the Cowboys. Helping them win 30-24 at Bay Area, Guerendo finished his outing with 85 rushing yards and a single TD in the third quarter.

Seeing Mason and Guerendo step up to the platter, Shanahan has nothing but praise for them, “JP’s been in and out over the last couple years, but he’s never been able to carry an entire game. For him to carry us. He’s gotten better each week. He’s really shown everyone that he can do it.” After singing praises for his 25-year-old running back, Shanahan didn’t mince his words praising this year’s 4th-round pick, “And then Issac, we loved his talent, but you need to get in those games, you need to get the reps. He’s shown some promising things and some things he’s got to improve at, and the stuff we hit him hard at practice with.”

As Shanahan is set to be treated with McCaffrey’s comeback, the 28-year-old returned to practice on Monday.

Christian McCaffrey is all set for his debut on Sunday

Spending eight weeks on the sidelines watching your team play is never a good feeling for a player. Although it could be beneficial for your eventual comeback, it does take a lot of patience to fight through the frustrations. Having suffered Achilles tendinitis, McCaffrey opened up about fighting inner demons, “Sometimes you just take it for granted that you play this game for a living and it’s what you do. It’s what you train for. But when it’s taken from you. Even just for a little bit of time. It makes you really appreciate every single day when you’re on the grass.”

Before taking on the Bucs in Tamba Bay, Shanahan did speak about taking McCaffrey off the injury reserves, “We’ll take him off IR tomorrow and then he’ll be good to go. So unless something crazy happens on this plane ride. He should be good to go once he gets off IR.” But it isn’t like McCaffrey didn’t recover halfway through the injury. After missing out on training camp, McCaffrey did recover from his calf injury. And he was also all set to play against the Jets on Sept 9th. However, his Achilles tendinitis didn’t heal completely, thereby shifting him back to the injury reserves.

This prompted him to travel to Germany in order to find specialist treatment and heal as quickly as possible, “I keep all that stuff private. When you’re on IR and hurt, you’ll do anything to come back. I feel good right now. That’s all that matters.” Although McCaffrey wasn’t interested in spilling out the beans of his recovery in Germany, the 49ers would be more than ecstatic to see him gear up again. A win against the Bucs could see them at the top of their division. But it would only happen if the Cardinals and Rams lose their clashes this week.