No Guarantee Injured Yankees Star Aaron Judge Returns This Season

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone is hopeful that Aaron Judge returns to the diamond after suffering a big toe injury earlier this month.

But when will Judge return? Boone and the Yankees don’t know yet. In fact, Boone won’t guarantee that Judge even comes back this season.

It was revealed Saturday that Judge’s injury is worse than originally thought with the Yankees star slugger dealing with a torn ligament in his right big toe that causes him pain when he walks, per multiple reports.

“The reality is, we’re without him right now and we’ve got to find a way to get it done,” Boone told reporters before the Yankees hosted the Texas Rangers, per Reuters. “We have the people in there to get it done, we just gotta do a better job right now of putting pressure on the opposing pitchers and defense.”

The Yankees are 6-10 without Judge in the lineup, including being swept by the rival Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park last weekend, and sit in third place in the American League East.

For Judge, who was putting himself in the AL MVP conversation again by batting .291 with 19 home runs and 40 RBIs in 49 games this season, it might all come down to pain management for how soon he gets back on the field.

“I’ve got to knock out the rehab stuff. I’ve had different injuries over the years where it’s going to take a while,” Judge told reporters, per Reuters. “It’s not going to be perfect here in a couple of weeks. Once we can manage the pain, we’re going to be in a good spot.”

Judge added: “I don’t think too many people in here have torn a ligament in their toe. If it was a quad, we’d have a better answer. If it’s an oblique or hamstring, we have answers and a timeline for that. With how unique this injury is, and it being my back foot, which I push off of and run off of, it’s a tough spot.”