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The San Francisco 49ers are coming off a Week 9 bye, which the team sorely needed due to what seemed like a never-ending carousel of injuries to key contributors on both sides of the ball.

But the bye week also brought a growing level of excitement in the 49ers locker room, knowing the practice window would likely open for the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year, Christian McCaffrey.

While things went according to plan for CMC’s hopeful return to the field in Week 10, head coach Kyle Shanahan shared some concerns regarding the All-Pro defensive end’s status . Nick Bosawho is currently listed as questionable heading into Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Bosa reportedly suffered a hip injury during Wednesday’s practice, which significantly reduced his participation for the remainder of the week.

Here is Shanahan:

After being asked how concerned he might be about Bosa’s chances of playing Sunday, Shanahan replied: “I am to a certain extent, he hasn’t been able to do much.”

“He was definitely extremely limited,” the Niners head coach said. “I hope he’s okay, but we’ll see on Sunday.”

Shanahan then clarified that the hip injury was not something Bosa was already suffering from before the bye week:

“No, no. I just bumped into someone. I got a little pointer on my hip and, uh, it just bothered it. I think it was very early in practice on Wednesday .”

If Bosa is unable to take his chances on Sunday, his overwhelming presence along this defensive line will be sorely missed. This is a player who recorded 14 quarterback pressures in a single game against the rival Seattle Seahawks in Week 7.

In a league where so much attention is paid to sack numbers (Bosa has 4.5 on the season), the imposing number 97 tends to have an impact that goes beyond an official game summary or of a statistics line.

Considering quarterback Baker Mayfield’s ability to run and often extend plays, that’s a lot Brock Purdy The fact is, having Bosa’s uniform seems absolutely essential for the 49ers to earn a road victory against a tough Buccaneers team that just took Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs to overtime in Week 9.

With a 4-4 record, the 49ers have yet to string together two consecutive victories this season. The rested team – with CMC finally ready to debut – has an opportunity to break that pattern Sunday afternoon in Tampa.