Carolina Panthers have been handed a massive blow as their star running back Christian McCaffrey is set to miss the remainder of the season with an ankle injury, the team announced Monday.

An MRI determined McCaffrey’s injury was significant enough to place him on injured reserve. Because of his expected rehabilitation time and the fact that this is his second stint on IR, McCaffrey will miss Carolina’s last five regular-season games after the bye week.

With a hamstring ailment earlier this season, McCaffrey missed five games.

Last season, he missed 13 games due to different ailments, including seven games due to a high ankle sprain.

After being hurt in the first half of Carolina’s 33-10 defeat to the Miami Dolphins, the 2017 first-round draught selection only played little after that.

McCaffrey has been on injured reserve for the second straight season. Last season, he only appeared in three games.

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McCaffrey has missed 23 of 33 games in the previous two seasons due to injuries after becoming the NFL’s highest-paid running back with a four-year, $64 million contract after an All-Pro season in 2019.

After recovering from a lengthy hamstring ailment, McCaffrey has 421 yards on 68 attempts and a score in the last four weeks. He has 442 yards and a touchdown on the ground and 37 receptions for 343 yards and a touchdown.

The Panthers opened the season 3-0, but McCaffrey went down with a hamstring injury against the Houston Texans in Week 3. McCaffrey was open about the perils of playing Thursday night games at the time, stating that he was not a fan.

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After that, the Panthers’ season took a turn for the worst, finishing 1-4 with their greatest offensive player on the bench.

McCaffrey made his comeback against New England on Nov. 7, but the Patriots lost. The Panthers, on the other hand, travelled to Arizona the next week and upset the Cardinals, the NFC’s top club. Carolina has since lost to Washington and Miami, dropping to 5-7 and out of the postseason picture heading into this week’s bye.

The Panthers are anticipated to start Chuba Hubbard for the remainder of the season, with Ameer Abdullah receiving more play. Hubbard had his greatest game against Philadelphia on Oct. 10, when he rushed 24 times for 101 yards and grabbed six catches for 33 yards.

With inputs from the Associated Press