Aaron Judge’s injury outlook grew more complicated Tuesday, after a sports doctor warned the Yankees captain’s recovery timeline could extend well beyond a few days.
What initially appeared to be a manageable injury now carries a much wider range of outcomes, with medical experts raising the possibility of a significantly longer absence.
Judge had been managing right shoulder soreness for roughly two weeks before the discomfort escalated during New York’s series in Sacramento over the weekend. Imaging on Monday revealed the source. The injury was a bone bruise in the upper rib area, with pain radiating into Judge’s right shoulder and disrupting his swing. Manager Aaron Boone listed his captain as day-to-day but acknowledged the situation could stretch considerably longer.
“Hopefully it’s day to day or a few days,” Boone said, as quoted by to the New York Post. “It could be longer based on how he’s feeling. Hopefully we avoided something serious.”
Dr. Jesse Morse, a sports medicine physician, posted a breakdown on social media shortly after news of the injury broke. He identified the injury as a bone bruise in either the first or second rib, with the pain referring directly into the right shoulder. He flagged the cartilage tissue between the ribs as a potential secondary concern, an area with poor blood supply that heals slowly and unpredictably.
“This could range from day-to-day up to several weeks (if rib cartilage ‘fracture’),” Morse wrote.
Dr. Spencer Stein, an NYU Langone sports orthopedic surgeon, offered a similarly wide window when reached by the Post. He said the injury often responds to rest within one to two weeks, but laid out a more serious scenario as well.
“If it’s more like a stress fracture, that could be more like 8-10 weeks,” Stein told the Post.
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GettyManager Aaron Boone of the New York Yankees may be without his 3-time MVP for a prolonged period.
The bone bruise may help explain Judge’s prolonged offensive skid. Over his previous 22 games, Judge went 17-for-82 with only six extra-base hits and 26 strikeouts, including a 2-for-26 stretch late in May that featured seven consecutive strikeouts, according to the New York Post. Dr. Stein told the Post the bone bruise in that rib area can affect swing path and sap bat speed, which would track with what Boone spotted from the dugout.
“I noticed it on a couple swings,” the manager said.
Yankees Outfield Depth Thin Without Judge
A long absence would hurt a Yankees team sitting at 36-23, second best in the American League, but already dealing with injury attrition across the roster. Max Fried has been sidelined for more than two weeks with a bone bruise in his left elbow. Jasson Domínguez, out with a sprained left shoulder after crashing into the outfield wall last month, is targeting live batting practice Wednesday and a minor league rehab assignment as early as Friday, according to MLB.com‘s Bryan Hoch.
José Caballero started in right field Tuesday with Judge out. The Yankees entered the series ranked fourth in the majors in runs scored after they put up 47 runs across their five-game Sacramento road trip. But the outfield behind Judge is thin. How long he remains sidelined depends on what his physician consultation Tuesday evening reveals.
Sports Doc Warns Yankees Aaron Judge Injury Could Sideline Him ‘Several Weeks’