Christian McCaffrey Injury Update: Latest on 49ers RB for Week 18 Fantasy Football

Christian McCaffrey has been a boon to both fantasy football managers and the San Francisco 49ers in 2023. He has been the best running back during the season and has the highest fantasy football points in that position. His do-it-all style has been a major reason why the 49ers are the top seed in the NFC and one of the favorites for the Super Bowl.

But he faced a worrying injury in their victory last weekend over the Washington Commanders and did not return. At the end of the game, he was seen mingling with the players. Here's a look at what this means for Christian McCaffrey going into the final week of the 2023 NFL season:

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Christian McCaffrey's injury update

Christian McCaffrey suffered a minor calf strain during the 27-10 win over their rivals from the capital. He was unsure whether or not it was stepped on but he confirmed that it was nothing serious. In fact, he went on to confirm that if something was riding on the game, he would have returned to the field.

McCaffrey said he was struggling to push off and did not want to exacerbate the situation going into Week 18. At that time, he did not know how big the 49ers' final game against the Los Angeles Rams would be in importance.

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What happened to Christian McCaffrey?

Currently, though, the situation is different. The Week 18 game is a dead rubber for them. After the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles lost over the weekend, the San Francisco 49ers have already wrapped up the top spot in the NFC. Therefore, they know they have nothing riding on the game against the Rams and they also have a bye the week thereafter as the first seed.

In effect, their next meaningful game will not come for another couple of weeks when they feature in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Therefore, risking Christian McCaffrey for Week 18 does not make any sense. Kyle Shanahan confirmed as much, ruling him out for the final game against Los Angeles.

The San Francisco head coach is also giving Arik Armstead the time to recover before the postseason. Ambry Thomas will also have surgery on his broken hand this week but is expected to be back for the knockout game. Clinching the first seed in the NFC has given the 49ers the benefit of resting the players for the smallest of niggles.

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When will Christian McCaffrey return?

Fantasy football managers now know that they will not have Christian McCaffrey's services for the final week of the season. So they should look elsewhere.

But we do know, with relative assurance, that the running back will be back for the Divisional round.

When the 49ers host the playoff game in Santa Clara, knowing that they could be knocked out with a loss, Christian McCaffrey will be back for sure. Despite talent all over the squad, he is their main man.

When they lost to the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas Day at home, he still had more than 100 rushing yards and a receiving touchdown. He was the only one who came out of that match with any credit for San Francisco. He was also reported to be battling an ankle injury for the second half on that day but he still played against the Washington Commanders.

The coming rest period will help McCaffrey iron out all the bumps and bruises, whether it be his calf or anywhere else.

Ever since he was acquired from the Carolina Panthers, the 49ers have looked like a different team and potential champions-in-waiting. They will be hoping that this wait comes to an end this season.