Aaron Judge is expected to make his return to the New York Yankees’ lineup on Saturday.

The New York Yankees’ spring training has faced adversity, with concerns arising over Aaron Judge’s and Gerrit Cole’s health. Cole’s status was cast into doubt after undergoing an MRI on his right elbow on Monday. Similarly, Judge also underwent an MRI on his abdomen due to discomfort in the area.

While the results of Cole’s imaging had not been disclosed as of Tuesday evening, Judge stated that his tests returned “clean.”

Aaron Judge expressed uncertainty about his readiness for Opening Day, which is scheduled for March 28 in Houston. Despite stating that his tests came back clean, he added that he was only “pretty sure” about being ready for the season opener.

“I don’t want to speculate,” Judge remarked.

The outfielder’s last appearance was on Sunday, where he had only two at-bats before being taken out. Both Judge and Aaron Boone characterized his early exit as a planned light day.

Aaron Judge revealed that he had been experiencing “slight” discomfort in his abdomen for about a week, particularly during the follow-through of his swings. In an effort to prevent missing games once the regular season begins, he opted to take some time off now.

“I’m a little banged up, so we thought it best to take a couple of days,” Judge explained at Steinbrenner Field. “I’ll be back out there soon. … The most important thing is Opening Day.”

The discomfort has been bothering Judge primarily during his swing follow-through for about a week. Despite this, he engaged in defensive drills on Tuesday, which was seen as a positive development. However, according to Harshil Matta, a doctor of osteopathic medicine at NYU Langone Health, injuries in the abdomen are often associated with the oblique.

Judge has had to deal with oblique injuries twice before, in 2016 and 2019, both leading to stints on the injured list.

Although Judge had initially been slated to return to the lineup on Wednesday against the Red Sox, he indicated on Tuesday that he “probably” would not play. He doesn’t expect to resume swinging until “maybe” later in the week. Manager Aaron Boone did not entirely rule out Judge playing on Wednesday but suggested it was more likely to happen over the weekend.

Judge attributed the recent injury to the extensive work he put in during the offseason to adjust his swing after suffering a toe injury last season, which sidelined him for nearly two months.