The Yankees were holding out hope Aaron Judge’s oblique injury wasn’t serious after he was forced from Saturday’s win over the Royals.

They should have known better.

Judge was placed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with what Aaron Boone called a “pretty significant strain.’’

“It’s tough,” Judge said after the Yankees beat the Royals, 7-6 in 10 innings. “One of my goals was to not get back on [the IL]. It’s especially tough at times like this when we have a lot of guys beat up.”

While neither Boone nor Judge would put a potential timeline on Judge’s absence, Boone said it would be a while before the right fielder did anything.

“The next few weeks will just be a lot of the healing process,” Boone said.

Not surprisingly, Judge didn’t want to speculate either. He missed 45 games last season after suffering a chip fracture in his right wrist that initially wasn’t supposed to keep him out nearly that long.

“There’s no need to put a clock on it because that’s what we did with the wrist last year,’’ Judge said. “There’s no need to go down that road again.”



Judge left Saturday’s game in the bottom of the sixth, when he injured himself swinging on a single to right. He was clearly in discomfort as he jogged to first and was removed from the game after a brief visit from trainer Steve Donohue.

Asked what he thought on his way to first, Judge said: “I can’t say that on TV. It wasn’t good. I was just thinking about the team and the situation we’re going through.”

He became the 14th player put on the IL by the Yankees this season. They currently have 13 players on the IL, with only CC Sabathia having returned, although Gary Sanchez is expected back Wednesday in Anaheim, Calif.

Thairo Estrada was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday to take Judge’s spot on the roster, in part because the infielder was the only healthy player there who was on the 40-man roster.

Boone didn’t anticipate any further roster moves and insisted he was OK with Tyler Wade serving as the team’s fourth outfielder. Wade replaced Judge in right Saturday, while Clint Frazier started there Sunday, with Brett Gardner in center and Mike Tauchman in left.

“We feel comfortable with him bouncing around,” Boone said of Wade.

As for possible replacements, Aaron Hicks, out with a lower back injury, will head to Tampa to continue his rehab and Boone said he should be in rehab games soon.



Giancarlo Stanton (biceps) “potentially could move fast,’’ although Stanton said Saturday he hadn’t started hitting on the field yet.

And for those wondering, Jacoby Ellsbury remains in Tampa, not doing much.

“He’s had different things pop up that haven’t allowed him to break through” to ramp up baseball activity, according to Boone.

None of them, though, will be able to make up for Judge’s loss.

“I expect his leadership to continue to a degree,’’ Boone said of Judge, who will travel with the team. “It is undeniable that this is one of the greatest players in the sport. An all-around player. Great defensively. The way he runs the bases. Obviously, what he is offensively. So, you miss that. That’s huge. He will continue to influence his teammates like he does. We will continue to expect that from him.”

This is the third significant injury Judge has suffered over parts of four major league seasons.

In addition to last year’s wrist injury, Judge suffered a season-ending right oblique strain on Sept. 13, 2016. Judge stayed healthy in 2017, playing in 155 games.