Aaron Judge Injury Update: Yankees captain reveals torn ligament in toe, expected recovery and return period explored

Last season, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees lofted 62 home runs. The astonishing number was enough to shatter fellow Yankee Roger Maris' 1961 record of 61 homers.

After the campaign, Judge was named the AL MVP, winning handily over runner-up Shohei Ohtani. Additionally, the 6-foot-7 outfielder was named the team's first captain since Derek Jeter and a 9-year deal worth $360 million, the highest ever given to a position player.

To say that Yankees fans were expecting a big season out of Judge in 2023 would be an understatement. Until early June, that was exactly what they were getting.

Aaron Judge was leading the MLB in home runs with 19 of them when he crashed through the outfield wall in LA after robbing Los Angeles Dodgers star JD Martinez of a double on June 4. Although Judge looked okay on the play, he was later assigned to the 10-day IL on account of a broken toe.

"AARON JUDGE, WHAT A GRAB!" - Fox Sports: MLB

On June 24, Judge came public, admitting that he had, in fact, torn a crucial ligament in his toe. According to the 31-year old, it is still hurting him to walk.

Since Judge's absence, the Yankees have been full of struggle. With a record of 6-10, the Yankees have the worst batting average in the American League during the month of June, posting a figure of just .195. Of their ten losses, six came at the hands of the Boston Red Sox, a divisional foe.

Speaking to the press on Saturday June 24, Yankees manager Aaron Boone failed to give a return date for Judge. Although the manager claimed that Aaron Judge would be back before the end of the season, he stopped short of offering a guarantee to fans.

""The reality is, we're without him right now and we've got to find a way to get it done. We have the people in there to get it done, we gotta do a better job right now of putting pressure on the opposing pitchers and defense." Aaron Boone on weathering Judge absence" - Yankees Videos

Aaron Judge is a massive loss for the Yankees

Without Judge in the lineup, it has been observed that the New York Yankees score only about half as much. When the team's GM, Brian Cashman, decided to fork out such a massive contract, it was clear that the team was going all-in on Judge. Now with a record of 41-35, 10.5 games behind the top spot in their division, perhaps that move is starting to look like a mistake.