Surgeon Warns of Achilles Rupture Risk for Aaron Judge if Calf Injury is Rushed

New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge was not included on the Wild Card Series roster due to a moderate soleus muscle strain in his calf. Dr. Drew Burdi, a foot and ankle surgeon and former college football quarterback, cautioned that attempting to return too soon from the injury could expose Judge to more severe damage, potentially affecting his hamstring or Achilles tendon.

"If you do go too fast, too soon, you could just make it a more severe injury," Burdi told OutKick. "It's a soleus, so that could lead to overstraining (the) hamstring, up and down. So that's your calf muscle, or part of the calf muscle. You could put more strain on your Achilles, you could put more strain on your hamstrings, and that could lead to other injuries."

Burdi explained that calf strains involve varying degrees of muscle tearing. Rushing back before the muscle is adequately healed could escalate a moderate strain into a severe one, leading to a significantly longer recovery period. He added that even advanced treatments like platelet-poor plasma (PPP) injections, shock wave therapy, or hyperbaric oxygen therapy have limits if the body isn't given enough time to heal.

"The body can only adapt so much, can only heal so quickly," Burdi stated.

The most serious potential consequence of an ill-timed return, according to Burdi, is an Achilles rupture. "That's always a risk, and Achilles is always so scary because a lot of people, you see it in football, guys are jumping up on the sidelines and they come down weird and they rupture their Achilles," he said. While Achilles injuries are not always career-ending, they can be career-altering, as players may not perform at the same level after recovery.

Judge sustained the calf injury and received a PPP injection in an attempt to accelerate his rehabilitation. However, the recovery was not sufficient for him to be cleared for the postseason roster.

Despite the Yankees potentially missing his offensive impact, the decision to keep Judge off the roster prioritizes his long-term health. In his limited return from a previous rib injury, Judge batted .241 with 18 home runs and 41 RBI over 66 games. He expressed hope that the Yankees would advance past the Boston Red Sox in the Wild Card Series, allowing him to rejoin the team for the American League Division Series.