RB Christian McCaffrey held out of practice Wednesday with knee injury

Nov 30, 2022, 1:30 PM | Updated: 2:12 pm

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 27: Christian McCaffrey #23 of the San Francisco 49ers warms up prior to the game against the New Orleans Saints at Levi's Stadium on November 27, 2022 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

BY AMILIANO FRAGOSO

San Francisco 49ers Beat Writer

Update: Guard Spencer Burford (ankle) did not practice Wednesday for the 49ers.

The San Francisco 49ers may have won the battle against the New Orleans Saints in Week 12, but the casualties are starting to pile up. Most notably, running back Christian McCaffrey.

The star running back missed practice Wednesday, dealing with “knee irritation” from Sunday’s contest.

The injury was first noticed in the second half of Week 12, with the team using the ball carrier sporadically in the third quarter. He returned to the field in the fourth quarter but was seen in some discomfort for the rest of the game. CMC finished the day with 49 yards from scrimmage on 15 touches.

“He just felt something in [his knee], some irritation,” head coach Kyle Shanahan explained to the media Wednesday.

But when asked about his availability for Week 13 against the Miami Dolphins, Shanahan was hopeful McCaffrey would be ready to go.

Shanahan says McCaffrey will not practice today due to knee "irritation" pic.twitter.com/x0NAcnDtq0

— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) November 30, 2022

“It’s keeping him from going today, so I hope not,” the coach added.

CMC missing even one contest would be catastrophic for San Francisco, already without RB Elijah Mitchell, who suffered another MCL sprain Sunday.

Additionally, defensive end Charles Omenihu did not practice Wednesday, also dealing with knee irritation. He made his return to the field Sunday, missing the previous two games due to a quad injury. Rookie guard Spencer Burford also did not join practice to start the week, dealing with an ankle injury sustained in Week 12. The 49ers will test it in warmups before making a decision.

Some good news did come the Red & Gold’s way as defensive tackle Arik Armstead took to the practice field Wednesday in a limited fashion. The Sacramento native has been on the sidelines since the fourth quarter of Week 4 against the LA Rams, suffering from foot and ankle injuries. He had a good first practice Friday before undergoing a workout on Sunday, both were steps in the right direction for Armstead.

“Armstead had a real good week last week. He had a real good day yesterday. I’m hoping to get him back here into practice on Wednesday,” Shanahan said Monday.