Christian McCaffrey took a few minutes to address reporters Friday for the first time since Sept. 12, which was the last time he spoke publicly before going on injured reserve for Achilles’ tendinitis in both feet.
A transcription of what McCaffrey had to say the 49ers (4-4) departed to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5) Sunday:
Q: Can you take us through the Germany trip?
McCaffrey: I keep all that stuff private. When you’re on I.R. and you’re hurt, you’ll do anything to come back. I’m feeling good now and that’s all that matters.
Q: It was said that rest was an important component to your recovery. Would you agree with that?
McCaffrey: I wish it was that easy. It’s a combination of a lot of things that go into it. Our staff did an amazing job. The last eight weeks were extremely unfortunate for me. It’s very tough being injured. It’s tough physically, mentally, emotionally. Especially when it’s not how you planned it and it wasn’t expected and some stuff just went wrong, but I’m feeling great now and I’m ready to go.
Q: How did you get through that time?
McCaffrey: One day at a time. You’ve just got to trust in God and just take it one day at a time. It can be dark sometimes, especially when it’s something like that and you feel like it’s . . . having to watch games, you’re physically in pain. Trying so hard not to let stuff like that happen and a lot goes into it. I think about football pretty much every day of my life. It consumes about 98 percent of my life. So when it doesn’t go right, it can be very tough. All I know is it makes you realizes how blessed and fortunate you are when you are on that field, so I’m happy to be back.
Q: Kyle Shanahan said going on I.R. kind of took the pressure off in terms of giving it some time. Was it the same for you?
McCaffrey: I can say this — from John (Lynch) to Kyle, to Jed (York) and the whole training staff, the way that the treated everything and the way that they went about it was amazing. Sometimes you need people in your corner that can look after you and maybe they know what’s best for you when there are times when you want to suck it up and do something that might be risky. They handled it, and the training staff and the strength staff, I’m really fortunate.
Q: What was your mindset getting back on the field for practice?
McCaffrey: Ah, just a lot of gratitude. Sometimes you take it for granted that you play this game for a living. It’s what you do, it’s what you train for, but when it’s taken from you, even for just a little bit of time, it makes you appreciate every single day you’re on the grass.
Q: Were you able to stay in the meeting room and was it gratifying to see what Jordan (Mason) …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
