Panthers All-Pro RB Christian McCaffrey could return Oct. 29 for Falcons game

Carolina Panthers All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey likely won't play in Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints as he continues to recover from the ankle sprain that he suffered in the loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 20. 

The good news for Carolina fans, though, is that NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported on Tuesday that the 24-year-old ball-carrier "has a shot" to return to the backfield for the Oct. 29 Thursday night game versus the Atlanta Falcons. 

McCaffrey found the end zone four times over the first two games of the campaign, contests Carolina lost, before the ankle problem sidelined him for the past month. Original reports suggested he'd miss between four and six games. 

"Well, that's a challenge to me," McCaffrey said of that diagnosis on Sept. 21. "Hopefully, I'll get back a lot earlier than this."

"It sucks, to be 100 percent transparent," McCaffrey added. "Anytime you get injured, it's a horrible thing. You play football to play football, not to sit out."

The Panthers won three consecutive games without McCaffrey before falling to the Chicago Bears 23-16 last Sunday. Veteran Mike Davis became Carolina's starting back during McCaffrey's absence and, per Nick Shook of NFL.com, has rushed for 271 yards and two touchdowns since the start of Week 3.