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Judge suffered partially collapsed lung caused by rib fracture

Victor Decolongon / Getty Images Sport / Getty

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge revealed Friday he suffered a partially collapsed lung due to a stress fracture in his rib that was discovered in early March, according to Marly Rivera of ESPN.

Judge said his lung has completely recovered, but he's still dealing with the fracture. He apparently sustained the latter injury on a diving play last September, though he didn't miss any games because of it.

"I can fly if I need to go home," the two-time All-Star told reporters. "The bone is still about the same. Slight improvement, but in two weeks they can't really tell much of anything. The bone is healing the way it should be."

The 2017 AL Rookie of the Year said a CT scan showed his rib has healed slightly. He added that he'll likely have time to continue healing and avoid surgery due to the coronavirus pandemic delaying the start of the 2020 campaign.

"That’s the silver lining in all of this, having the ability to not feel rushed trying to get back for a certain date," Judge said, according to Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. "We don't really have a date right now. I'm just trying to let it heal. Not trying to rush it."

The 27-year-old slugger only appeared in 102 contests last season after missing two months with an oblique injury.

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