Christian McCaffrey is expected to miss 4-6 weeks after suffering an ankle injury on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The timeline makes him a candidate for the short-term injured reserve, but the Carolina Panthers star is hoping to return sooner than the anticipated timeline.

"That's a challenge to me," McCaffrey said. "And I'm gonna attack it, like I attack anything else."

The Panthers signed the running back to a four-year, $64 million extension with more than $31.8 million guaranteed this offseason.