Aaron Judge answer question about whether he will return this season

Jul 15, 2019; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (99) goes to the dugout between innings against the Tampa Bay Rays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone left many of the team’s fans concerned when he refused to guarantee Aaron Judge would be back this season. Judge did have some more reassuring words for Yankees fans though.

Judge told the New York Post’s Jon Heyman that he expects to return this season.

“That’s obvious, I expect to be back,” Judge told Heyman for an article published late Sunday. “I’m going to do everything I can to put myself in that position.”

Judge has a torn ligament in his toe. That is a rare injury, which helps explain why the Yankees have been unable to pinpoint a potential timeline for Judge’s return. The reigning AL MVP even said that he is still experiencing pain.

Nobody wants to count out Judge for this season, but the Yankees don’t want to set the outfielder up for failure by setting a comeback date and having him not make it back by then.

Judge still has several weeks to heal up, though the Yankees’ offense will miss him in the meantime.