49ers fans rejoice as team activates Christian McCaffrey off IR: "MY GOAT IS BACK"

The San Francisco 49ers were handed a much-awaited boost ahead of their Week 10 clash against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Running back Christian McCaffrey was cleared to make his season debut on Sunday.

The superstar missed the 49ers' first eight games of the season with Achilles tendinitis, which he had been struggling with since August. There were concerns about him having to sit out the entire season due to the ailment, prompting him to visit a specialist in Germany to expedite his recovery.

Fortunately for San Francisco, he has been cleared to play and will suit up on Sunday against the Buccaneers. 49ers fans on social media were ecstatic about the news and welcomed McCaffrey back.

"MY GOAT IS BACK," a fan said.

Fantasy football team owners, who've had him on their roster since the draft, were also in celebratory mood:

"My 3-6 fantasy team just got scarier," @WzrdBoi wrote.

"Finally my no. 1 draft pick makes his debut after I start off 2-7," @CVeltchev said.

"LFG bring me a fantasy win," @JoshiedNFT wrote.

Christian McCaffrey injury update: RB could've played in Week 8

Christian McCaffrey has been itching to get back on the field and claims he was ready to play against the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 27. On "The Richard Sherman Podcast," the retired cornerback revealed that the running told him the 49ers held him back from making his season debut in Week 8.

"I heard it from the horse’s mouth," Sherman said. "He feels really good, and he felt like he could have probably played last week, but they wanted to be overly cautious and just give him more weeks of practice and more time to work that thing out to feel comfortable, and feel confident, and he does."

San Francisco's gamble of not activating McCaffrey against Dallas was risky, considering they were 3-4 on the year and couldn't afford another defeat.

But it worked as they hoped, as the team took care of business at home and won 30-24 over the struggling Cowboys, giving their superstar running back two weeks to recuperate from his Achilles injury.

The 49ers probably expected to be in a much stronger position at this point in the season than they envisioned. They are 4-4 and sit third in NFC West standings, half a game behind division leaders Arizona Cardinals. They expect McCaffrey to add a new dimension to their offense and have a much better time in the second half of the season.