Yankees star offers concerning injury update
from Zac Wassink, with YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com
New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge sounds no closer to returning to the lineup than he was at the start of the week.
“No timetable really,” Judge said about his recovery ahead of Thursday’s home doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, per Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “Which I think is best because there’s a couple of things going on in there. I think we’re just kind of waiting on a lot of the inflammation and swelling to go down”
Judge suffered a ligament sprain and contusion on his big right toe when he crashed into the outfield wall making a running catch during Saturday’s 6-3 win at the Los Angeles Dodgers. The reigning American League Most Valuable Player has been sidelined since that victory and is on the injured list until next Wednesday at the earliest.
Judge offered no indication he’ll be ready to play in less than a week.
“It doesn’t feel great,” Judge added about his toe. “If it felt great, I’d be out there.”
At least one sports orthopedic surgeon believes Judge could remain on the IL through the All-Star break and until the Yankees open a three-game series at the Colorado Rockies on July 14. For now, manager Aaron Boone and company are waiting for the swelling around Judge’s toe to go down after the four-time All-Star selection received a platelet-rich plasma injection to treat the issue.
“Right now, he’s kind of hobbling around, especially from the shot he just got,” Boone said of his most important star. “We don’t have a timeline. We don’t know. He got a shot in his toe yesterday. We don’t have an answer for you.”
Earlier this spring, the Yankees went 4-6 when Judge was out due to a right hip strain. While Judge entered Thursday’s doubleheader second in the entire league with 19 home runs and first with a 1.078 OPS this season, the third-place Yankees were trailing the first-place Tampa Bay Rays by eight-and-a-half games in the AL East standings.