Aaron Judge has torn ligaments in his toe, no timetable for return
\n”, “providerName”: “Twitter”, “providerUrl”: “https://twitter.com”, “type”: “oembed”, “width”:550, “contentType”: “rich”},{ “__typename”: “Markdown”, “content”: “Dr. Stein said that since Judge is still walking uncomfortably, he suspects it was a partial tear that could take six weeks or more to heal.\n\n”Schedule is always difficult, but I’d say optimistically mine best guess would be \\[that Judge could return\\] two months from the date of injury,” said Dr. Stone. “It’s reassuring that they aren’t saying up front that he needs surgery, but I’m cautiously optimistic because they kind of changed the story and therefore the schedule changed a bit too.”\n\nTo the question, whether he had his sights set on a return in August, the judge declined to answer.\n\n”I’m not giving you a timeline. “It’s not necessary,” Richter said. “I just have to get better and then I’ll be out there.”\n\nBoone didn’t say Judge 2023 would definitely be back.\n\n”It’s a must.” I can’t say that about anyone. But yeah, I have a feeling he’s going to come back,” Boone said. He added that his understanding of Judge has improved over the past few weeks.\n\n”He’s getting a little bit better every day, but not to the point of running or doing full baseball stuff,” Boone said. “We just have to keep waiting and get him there. He’s obviously as tough as they can get. He wants to be out there again. We’re just going to keep trying to get him healed and treated – and hoping for the best.”\n\nThe Yankees have been struggling without Judge, losing since June 4th, the first day he was off the roster. 10 of 16 games with the toe injury. Their offense ranks last for that span for batting average (.196), on-base percentage plus slugging (.603), and runs per game (3.1).\n\n”The reality is that we are without him at the moment. We have to find a way to make it happen,” Boone said. “We have the people in there who can do it. We just have to do better now, putting pressure on opposing pitchers and defense.” Summary: “NEW YORK – For the first time, Aaron Judge has described his right big toe injury as a ruptured ligament, marking a possible return date for the reigning most valuable American League players even more tarnished.\nJudge has not been with the Yankees lineup since June 3 when he fell against .[{“__typename”:”InternalTag”,”slug”:”storytype-article”,”title”:”Article”,”type”:”article”},{“__typename”:”PersonTag”,”slug”:”playerid-592450″,”title”:”Aaron Judge”,”person”:{“__ref”:”Person:592450″},”type”:”player”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”injury”,”title”:”injury”,”type”:”taxonomy”},{“__typename”:”TeamTag”,”slug”:”teamid-147″,”title”:”New York Yankees”,”team”:{“__ref”:”Team:147″},”type”:”team”},{“__typename”:”GameTag”,”slug”:”gamepk-717636″,”title”:”2023/06/24 tex@nyy”,”type”:”game”},{“__typename”:”TaxonomyTag”,”slug”:”apple-news”,”title”:”Apple 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June 24, 2023
NEW YORK — For the first time, Aaron Judge has described his right big toe injury as a torn ligament, further clouding a possible return date for the reigning American League’s MVP.
Judge has been off the Yankees roster since June 3, when he crashed into the right field wall at Dodger Stadium on a spectacular catch. The club described Judge’s injury as a bruise and sprain; He has received two injections of platelet-rich plasma to speed healing.
“I don’t think too many people have torn toes here,” Judge said Saturday before the Yankees vs. Rangers game. “If it was a quadriceps, we’d have a better answer. If so.” An oblique or hamstring, we have answers and a timeline for that. Given the uniqueness of this injury and the fact that it’s my back foot that I’m pushing off and pushing off from, it’s a tough spot.”
Given the severity of his injury, Judge’s progress was slow. He has progressed to pool work and balance exercises but has not played catch or batting again. Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Judge may do so by the end of this weekend.
“I mentioned that to the training staff. I want to test it out a bit,” Judge said. “Maybe play catch, maybe do some dry swings. I just kind of want to see where it stands. I really wouldn’t say I’m the one who runs on the field or plays a lot of baseball. I’m rather passive and say: “We’ve done a lot here.” We’re making great progress. Let’s test it with what I’ll actually do on the field.’”
The judge said he still felt pain when walking and was unable to run at this time.
“If I could run, we’d be out there,” Judge said. “If I could run I would be out there playing defense and doing my thing. We would find out by hitting. But if I can’t move, that’s the biggest hurdle we have to overcome. … The biggest thing is that the big toe is what you push off from behind [when] hit. I have to be sure [there is] Balance and the ability to transfer weight will be the most important key. Once we clear that hurdle, we start running and hitting.”
Surgery was not recommended and Judge raised the possibility that he could have a cortisone shot to cover up his discomfort once he is about to return to the pitch.
“It’s a small change,” said Dr. Spencer Stein, a sports orthopedist at NYU Langone Health who has not yet treated Judge. “Before, we heard a sprain. It’s all on a spectrum, but a strain would be a slight stretch or maybe even a small tear. The fact that they are now using ‘tears’ leads me to believe that this is a slightly higher level injury that may take longer.”
With Judge still unable to walk without discomfort, Dr. Stein has a partial tear that could take six weeks or more to heal, Dr. Stone.
“Schedules are always difficult, but I would say optimistically my best guess would be [that Judge could return] two months from the date of injury,” said Dr. Stone. “It’s reassuring that they aren’t saying upfront he’ll need surgery, but I’m cautiously optimistic because they kind of changed the story and therefore the schedule changed a bit too.”
When asked if he was targeting an August return, Judge declined to answer.
“I’m not giving you a schedule. “It’s not necessary,” Richter said. “I just have to get better and then I’m out there.”
Boone didn’t say Judge would definitely return in 2023.
“That is absolute. I can’t say that about anyone. But yeah, I have a feeling he’s going to come back,” Boone said. He added that his understanding of Judge has improved in recent weeks.
“He can do a little bit more every day, but not to the point where he’s running or doing full baseball stuff,” Boone said. “We just have to keep waiting and get him there. He’s obviously as tough as they can get. He wants to be out there again. We’re just going to keep trying to heal and treat him – and hope for the best.”
The Yankees have struggled without Judge, losing 10 of 16 games since June 4, the first day he was off the roster due to the toe injury. Their offense ranks last in that span for batting average (.196), percentage on base plus slugging (.603), and runs per game (3.1).
“The reality is we are without him at the moment. We have to find a way to make it happen,” Boone said. “We have the people in there who can do it. We just have to do better now, putting pressure on the opposing pitchers and defense.”