On Monday evening, ESPN’s report caused a stir that running back Christian McCaffrey would be seeing a specialist in Germany for his Achilles tendonitis. On Wednesday, coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about the situation.

Does Shanahan have an update on McCaffrey?

“No update,” Shanahan told reporters Wednesday. “I haven’t spoken to him.”

Then Shanahan was asked the question on many people’s minds.

Is there a chance he won’t play this season?

“Not that I know of,” Shanahan said.

That’s not a very convincing answer. Overall, Shanahan has given the impression that he doesn’t really know what’s happening with perhaps his most important player.

It adds to the mystery that is slowly growing around McCaffrey’s status. It started with a calf strain during camp. The word “Achilles” was added to the first injury report of the regular season.

Then McCaffrey became the surprise player for the Week 1 game against the Jets. Then he ended up on the IR. Then came the news of the trip to Germany.

Well, Shanahan doesn’t know what’s going on?

Maybe he was just strategically silent. Regardless, it leads to a situation that is becoming increasingly threatening. And no one saw it coming.