Kyle Shanahan can run, but he won’t be able to hide from Aaron Donald for too long.

As the Rams and 49ers are a day away from facing each other in Melbourne, Australia, the San Francisco coach shared his excitement with reporters about not having to face Donald in the season opener.

“I told you guys last time I talked to you that he was definitely playing, so I’ve never been more excited to be wrong about something,” Shanahan said. “We’re good.”

Shanahan acknowledged that the 49ers will have to face the Rams again this season, but for now, he’s celebrating this small victory.

“I just smiled said, ‘That’s good,’ ” Shanahan said after finding out Donald wouldn’t play. “… I was hoping he wouldn’t. I was preparing for the worst, and I’m glad we don’t have to see him this week.”

Since it was announced that Donald would return to the Rams, the question now has been: When will he return to the football field?

On Tuesday, Rams coach Sean McVay told reporters, just after the Rams wrapped up their final practice and were about to catch a 16-hour flight to Australia, that Donald would not join them and would remain inactive.

The soonest Donald could return to the football field will have to wait until Week 2, when the Rams host the Giants in a “Monday Night Football” matchup on Sept. 21.

For now, Shanahan’s offense will have to deal with reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, a year after he set the NFL single-season sack record with 23.

The Rams and 49ers are set to face off at 10:35 a.m. Friday in Australia. The game will air live on the West Coast beginning at 5:35 p.m. PT Thursday.

The teams will face off again in Week 14, when the Rams travel to San Francisco for a Dec. 13 game.