49ers' Christian McCaffrey's 'more than a matter of weeks,' away per insider

San Francisco 49ers fans may have to get used to watching Jordan Mason carry the ball for the foreseeable future.

Star running back Christian McCaffrey has been sidelined with Achilles tendinitis and is currently on injured reserve. According to reports, the National Football League’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year will likely be out for months, not weeks.

National Football League insider Ian Rapoport said there is “no telling when (Christian McCaffrey) will be back,” and it seems like “more of a matter of weeks than McCaffrey nearing a return.”

Dr. Kenton Fibel, the Anaheim Ducks’ medical director, echoed those sentiments in the San Francisco Chronicle . Dr. Fibel, an expert in non-surgical treatments such as the one McCaffrey recently traveled to Germany to receive, said that he doesn’t see McCaffrey returning to action anytime soon.

"I think it more suggests this is an injury that they think they are going to need something more to augment his healing that may require weeks or a couple months rather than a week or two," Fibel said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved the orthobiolic treatment that McCaffrey is utilizing, though it is not restricted by the NFL. This is a similar treatment to one used by Kobe Bryant, Peyton Manning, and Alex Rodriguez.

After sitting out the 49ers’ season opener, McCaffrey was placed in i. By rule, he must miss at least four games and be eligible for return in Week 6, when San Francisco hosts the Seattle Seahawks on October 10.

However, the Chronicle’s report puts his timeline for return around Thanksgiving or early December at the earliest.

More NFL: Raiders may get extended look at future of the offensive line in Week 4