Aaron Judge reveals cause of rib injury after playing through pain

New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge has revealed that the stress fracture in his right rib was caused by a diving catch attempt in late April, admitting he played through the pain for more than a month before it became too severe to ignore.

The three-time American League MVP said the injury first occurred during a game against the Houston Astros on 26 April, his 34th birthday, and was aggravated by a collision with the outfield wall against the Baltimore Orioles a week later.

Judge underwent X-rays, a CT scan and an MRI this week, while also consulting thoracic outlet specialist Dr Gregory Pearl.

Although the Yankees expect him to return later this season, the outfielder will be shut down from baseball activities before undergoing further scans in four to six weeks.

“Very disappointed,” Judge said on Friday.

“That's why we went through every measure we could to get an expert to take a look to see what was going on in there, but definitely not what you want to hear -- any fracture or anything like that.”

Judge continued to play, only informing manager Aaron Boone during the Yankees’ recent series in Sacramento.

“I kind of felt the symptoms for the past month, and we did everything we could to make sure we could be out there,” Judge said. “In Sacramento it just got a little worse. So, I fought as long as I could.”

The Yankees star also defended his decision to remain available for selection.

“We got a lot of guys banged up,” Judge said. “You got to be out there. That's what they're paying me to do, is to go out there and play.”