“The minute they said, ‘Alright, we’re going to start running,’ I said, ‘OK, I’ll see you outside.’” Aaron Judge did not need much convincing once the doctors cleared him for the next step in his recovery. The New York Yankees captain has spent more than two months away from the field, and every medical update on his injury has offered a little sign of progress. Now that the latest scans have delivered some encouraging news, they have given Yankees loyalists renewed hope amid the Bombers’ recent struggles.

“Oh, I’ll be back this season,” Judge said to the reporters before the final game against the St. Louis Cardinals, according to Talkin’ Yanks on X. “I don’t know why I wouldn’t be. That was always the plan to come back. Sooner than later, definitely. But I never had a thought of not playing this year.”

Aaron Judge suffered an injury on his right side, making a diving catch during a Houston Astros matchup on April 26. He continued playing through the pain for over a month before the Yankees finally put him on the injured list on May 31. The stress fracture in his right first rib took longer to recover, and his 10-day IL eventually translated to a 60-day IL on July 18.

He had some improvement earlier, but it was still not enough for him to start actual baseball actions. As a result, Judge could only perform lower body and neck exercises. But on Wednesday, a fresh scan revealed enough healing, and the doctors allowed light activities for the 8x All-Star.

Aaron Boone later explained that Judge will be able to do some outdoor running, upper body resistance work, and a few activities in the weight room, but anything beyond that is still a no-go. He said that these light activities will slowly roll into proper baseball activities. The reporters popped the most obvious question, as everyone was eager to know about a definite timeline for his return. 

“I think he understands what’s at stake. He’s obviously important to this club and is wanting to get back,” the manager said. “But he’s got to be whole too.”

While the team is playing it safe with one of their biggest players, Judge himself is raring to go. 

“I’ve got a broken rib, so you’re going to feel it,” he acknowledged. “But it’s healing up. That’s the progress we want to see. So we can start doing some more, kind of testing and see where we’re at. You’re running out of days. We’ve got 52-53 days left. We’ve got to get back out there.”

Despite his eagerness to be back on the field and help his team reach the playoffs, Aaron Judge admitted his biggest challenge. The reporters asked him about a timeline to resume throwing and hitting, and he said:

“I think that’s going to be the ultimate test, is hitting. That’s the most violent of it all, more than running or lifting and stuff like that. So, yeah, definitely keep progressing.”

The Yankees lost the final game against the Cardinals and dropped the series. They are still 7.0 games ahead in the Wild Card race, and Aaron Judge is truly eager to help the team with their offense, as the Yankees are 28th in the league with a .231 batting average.