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One by one, the 49ers are working their way back to health.
Christian McCaffrey was the latest big name to put his ailments behind him, returning to practice Thursday for the first time since injuring his hamstring before the bye week.
McCaffrey sat out the 49ers’ first practice back on Wednesday, but coach Kyle Shanahan said he hoped he would be able to return in limited fashion the following day.
With his return to practice, it would appear that the do-it-all running back is gearing up to play Sunday against the Raiders, putting him in the same boat as Nick Bosa, who suited up for individual drills on Wednesday for the first time since straining his calf leading up to Week 3.
The outlook, however, doesn’t look so rosy for Mike Evans or Deebo Samuel. Both receivers missed their second practice in a row since returning from a week off.
Samuel is still recovering from a severe hamstring strain he suffered in San Francisco’s win over the Seahawks in Seattle in Week 5. Evans has played through broken ribs but missed the 49ers’ last game with Achilles tendinitis and the team is taking a cautious approach to make sure the 13th-year vet is healthy when it matters most.
In his weekly appearance on KNBR Thursday morning, general manager John Lynch didn’t have a definitive word on Evans’ status for this week but didn’t sound optimistic.
“[It’s] probably likely that he won’t be out there Sunday,” Lynch said. “What we’re really trying to do there — he’s got that tendonitis that flared up — and I think you learn from the history.
“Christian had this situation [in 2024], and every player is different, every situation is different, but you don’t want it to become something that really lingers. So we’re trying to knock it out such that when he comes back, we give him the best chance to stay back.”
In the secondary, Upton Stout (shoulder) is trending toward returning to his starting nickelback spot after sitting out last week’s loss in Atlanta. Nate Hobbs (groin) could also make his season debut; he began the year on injured reserve but practiced for the first time Wednesday and could fill the spot of Jack Jones, who was released to clear a roster spot for DeForest Buckner.
