Christian McCaffrey took a few minutes to speak to reporters Friday for the first time since Sept. 12, the last time he spoke publicly before going on injured reserve with Achilles tendinitis in both feet.

A transcript of what McCaffrey had to say about the 49ers (4-4) heading out to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5) on Sunday:

Question : Can you tell us about the trip to Germany?

McCaffrey: I keep it all private. When you’re on IR and you’re injured, you’ll do anything to come back. I feel good now and that’s all that matters.

Question : Rest was said to be an important part of your recovery. Would you agree with this?

McCaffrey: I wish it was that simple. It’s a combination of a lot of things that come into play. Our staff has done an incredible job. The last eight weeks have been extremely unhappy for me. It’s very hard to be injured. It’s hard physically, mentally, emotionally. Especially when it’s not how you planned it and it wasn’t planned and some things went wrong, but I feel good now and I’m ready to go.

Question : How did you get through this period?

McCaffrey: One day at a time. You just have to trust God and take it one day at a time. It can be dark sometimes, especially when it’s something like this and you feel like it’s . . . while watching matches you suffer physically. I try so hard not to let things like this happen and it involves a lot. I think about football almost every day of my life. It consumes about 98 percent of my life. So when things don’t go well, it can be very hard. All I know is it makes you realize how blessed and lucky you are when you’re on that field, so I’m happy to be back.

Question : Kyle Shanahan said going on IR kind of took the pressure off by giving him time. Was it the same for you?

McCaffrey: I can say this – from John (Lynch) to Kyle to Jed (York) to the whole coaching staff, the way they treated everything and the way they went about it was incredible. Sometimes you need people by your side who can care for you and maybe they know what’s best for you when there are times when you want to let go and do something that could be risky. They handled it and the training team and the weight team, I’m really lucky.

Question : What was your state of mind when you returned to the field for training?

McCaffrey: Ah, just a lot of gratitude. Sometimes you take it for granted that you play this game for a living. It’s what you do, it’s what you train for, but when that’s taken away from you, even for just a little bit of time, it makes you appreciate every day that you’re on the grass.

Question : Were you able to stay in the meeting room and was it rewarding to see what Jordan (Mason) and Isaac (Guerendo) were able to do?

McCaffrey: I stayed as much as I could. When you are in IR, this is not necessary. Well, it is necessary, but almost every hour of the day is spent on health, and not necessarily on meetings. There’s a lot of treatment, a lot of pre-education, rehab, training, etc. Sleep, rest, it’s up to you. But it was amazing to see what these guys have done and will continue to do. We have such an incredible room that I will put our guys against anyone. Seeing what these guys did is not shocking when you have a guy like Bobby Turner as your coach. There is a standard in this room and the guys have done a hell of a job and will continue to do a hell of a job.

Question : Is there anything you need to practice in your pre-match routine because of these injuries?

McCaffrey: I’ve changed a lot, yeah. Many people have asked me: “What training do you do?” » And I finished answering. I discover it every day. All I know is that I have a good routine right now and I feel good, and that’s all that matters.