Despite a fractured wrist, Aaron Judge is already ready to get back to work

New York Yankees' Aaron Judge runs to third base on a double by Didi Gregorius during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals on Thursday night.|Art or Photo Credit: AP

NEW YORK - Aaron Judge was hit by a pitch in his right wrist Thursday, and he knew right away that it wasn't just any ordinary hit by pitch.
"Yeah, I had a bad feeling right away; I've gotten hit in the forearm or up in that area before, but this one, I knew right away when it got that spot that this was a little different," Judge said Friday night in his first media session since the injury. "I didn't know the severity of it until all the tests came back, but I didn't have a good feeling when it got me up there."
Judge took a second at-bat in the game, notching an infield single in the third, but was replaced by pinch-hitter Miguel Andujar in the fourth inning on the advice of hitting coach Marcus Thames.
"I took some swings after my first at-bat to see how it felt. Adrenaline was pumping, so I was looking at the score and how much game we had left, and I thought I could finish the game," Judge said. "(After that at-bat) I spoke with Marcus, and he kind of said, 'hey man, it's July, so if you've got something going on, it's best to just shut it down now, go get some treatment, and see what's going on with it later.'"
Tests were indeed done - specifically an X-ray, MRI, and CT scan - and they revealed a chip fracture of the ulnar styloid bone in his right wrist, with the Yankees approximating that it would be three weeks before Judge could swing a bat in a game situation.
Earlier Friday, manager Aaron Boone wasn't sure if that three-week timeline meant rehab games or official games, or if it would be slightly shorter or longer, but was pretty confident it was a feasible timeline - and that's something Judge corroborated in his press conference.
"I feel good. A little soreness today waking up, but overall I feel good, and it could've been a lot worse," Judge said. "That timeline, I believe it's when I can get back into a game with the Yankees. I'm not sure, but I'm happy with what they diagnosed, and now, it's just time to go to work and get better. I'm looking forward to getting past that first week and starting to swing a bat."
Judge is receiving ice and compression therapies to keep the swelling down for now, and while he kept his right hand hidden behind the table in the press room during the media session, he was seen before the game sporting a black brace on that hand while he was presenting an award on the field.
"When I'm not getting treatment, I just have to have it wrapped up to keep the swelling down," he admitted. "It's not a hard cast, just a little pad to keep the swelling down."
And, about a week from now, the team thinks, he'll be able to start taking some dry swings and maybe some swings off a tee, and, as cliché as it sounds, they will go from there.
"With this kind of fracture, it's really all about how it feels," he said. "Once the pain goes away and you have strength and range of motion back, you're good to go, so we have to get that pain out of there."
Still, even with the optimistic timeline - and his own optimistic thought that "I'm glad this happened now, and not in September" - it will be disappointing for Judge to sit on the sidelines for however long he is out, and only get to be a spectator as the Yankees chase the Red Sox.
"It's tough, but stuff like this happens, and there's nothing I can do about it now," Judge lamented. "I want to be out there every day, because my goal is always to play 162 games plus with my team; I've always defined great players as guys out there battling and grinding every day with their team. But, for now, I just have to move on, get healthy, and get ready for that run."