San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Tuesday that running back Christian McCaffrey is dealing with a calf strain and is unlikely to play in the preseason.

Shanahan added that his star running back is likely to miss several weeks of practice.

McCaffrey, 28, largely stayed healthy in the 2023 season, missing just the final week due to what Shanahan described at the time as a “mild” right calf strain. It wasn’t considered serious.

When healthy, McCaffrey was arguably the most dynamic offensive playmaker in football, totaling 1,459 yards and 14 touchdowns on the ground and 67 catches on 83 targets for 564 yards and another seven scores through the air. He played in 16 games, the most appearances for him since the 2019 campaign.

There’s no replacing the rushing and receiving impact a player like McCaffrey offers out of the backfield, but the Niners would turn to the pair of Elijah Mitchell and Jordan Mason if he was unavailable in the regular season. Deebo Samuel would also undoubtedly see a bigger uptick in touches out of the backfield if McCaffrey missed any time.