The Patriots don’t travel to the San Francisco 49ers until Week 4, but it’s not inconceivable that New England is keeping a close eye on Christian McCaffrey’s injury status.

The 49ers star player suffered a calf and Achilles injury during training camp, forcing McCaffrey to miss San Francisco’s season opener against the New York Jets on Monday night.

Niners head coach Kyle Shanahan called McCaffrey a play-time decision Monday night after he was listed as questionable on the injury report, which could point to a return sooner rather than later. However, Shanahan also confirmed there was concern that McCaffrey’s calf injury could linger.

“It’s been a little bit choppy the last couple of weeks, but it’s getting better and hopefully next week it’ll be better again,” Shanahan told reporters in a video provided by the team.

Shanahan said McCaffrey hasn’t had any setbacks, but hinted that the team is taking it day by day. These early-season games certainly aren’t the main focus for the Niners, who entered the season tied for the lowest odds to win the Super Bowl.

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“He was able to practice all week. It always bothered him a little bit,” Shanahan said. “Sometimes it goes away, sometimes it comes back. (Monday) it bothered him a little bit too much, which made us feel bad.”

While the Patriots will have to keep an eye on the Seattle Seahawks (Week 2) and New York Jets (Week 3) before the 49ers, there’s no doubt that McCaffrey’s potential absence could be a big game-changer. He’s undoubtedly one of the league’s top offensive weapons, and a running back that Jerod Mayo’s team will have to plan around.

New England took advantage of the Cincinnati Bengals being without wide receiver Tee Higgins in Week 1.