“I’m very disappointed,” Judge said Friday at Yankee Stadium. “That’s why we took every measure possible, to have every expert take a look and see what was going on there. It’s definitely not what you want to hear, a fracture or something.”

Out of the lineup for the Yankees’ series against the Guardians, Judge underwent an MRI, CT scan and X-rays on consecutive days this week in New York. The team indicated that Judge will be evaluated again with imaging in four to six weeks to discuss healing and the appropriate next steps in his recovery.

Judge believes the injury stemmed from a head-first dive during a series in late April against the Astros in Houston, which continued to get progressively worse. Review of the video suggests it could have occurred on April 26, when he and second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. converged on Dustin Harris’ fly ball.

“This particular dive, trying to avoid a teammate, is just an awkward situation where you put your body in a difficult position,” Judge explained of the play.

Judge recognized that hitting walls (as he did May 3 against Baltimore) didn’t help. However, he did not miss a game until Tuesday, and manager Aaron Boone said he had noticed the problem getting worse during the club’s series against the A’s in West Sacramento.

Judge’s performance declined around May 13; From that day on, he hit .180 (11-for-61) with one home run and eight RBIs.

“I was feeling the symptoms last month, and we did everything we could to make sure we could be on the field,” Judge said. “In Sacramento, it just got a little worse. I struggled as long as possible… The biggest thing was that I just couldn’t swing the way I wanted to. And in Sacramento it was the worst.”

Still, general manager Brian Cashman confessed that he was caught off guard when head trainer Mike Schuk called him Monday, recommending that Judge undergo imaging studies.

“Before that, I wasn’t on anyone’s radar in any way, shape or form,” Cashman stated. “It developed a little bit, I think, in the conversation between the manager and the player in Sacramento at the end of that series. But before that, it really wasn’t on anyone’s radar, from the player to the trainers to the front office.”

Boone said he was aware that Judge had been receiving treatment, noting, “Guys deal with things all the time.”

Asked why he continued to play despite the injury, Judge responded: “We’ve got a lot of guys banged up. You’ve got to be out there. That’s what they pay me to do, to go out and play.”

In a corresponding move, the club promoted outfielder Spencer Jones from the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre branch on Friday. In 10 games during his first stint in the majors, the 25-year-old Jones posted a .167/.259/.167 slash line with two RBIs.

In the coming weeks, the Dominican Jasson Domínguez and potentially even Giancarlo Stanton could enter the landscape of the gardens. Panamanian José Caballero and Max Schuemann played in right field during the series against Cleveland; Jones was in that position Friday against the Red Sox.

“Obviously, you’re not going to replace Aaron Judge, and we all know how important he is to our club,” Boone said. “But we also have a lot of confidence in our ability to go out there and absolutely expect to continue winning games.”

Judge’s diagnosis came after a consultation with Dr. Gregory Pearl of Dallas, who specializes in the “management of thoracic outlet syndrome in high-performance athletes,” according to his practice’s website. However, Judge clarified that that was not a concern for him.

“I don’t think the thoracic was involved in this at all. I don’t know where that came from,” Judge said. “The worst thing I had in mind was a broken rib, which is what happened.”

Judge said the rib fracture is “close to the same place” as the one he suffered in September 2019, also while trying to make a diving catch.

Over the years since then, Judge has made efforts to be more conservative in certain areas of his preparation, but he has no plans to change the way he plays the outfield.

“It’s baseball. I’m going to hit walls, throw myself at my pitchers and my teammates every day,” Judge said. “It’s a little bit out of your control. If I pull my hamstring, it’s my fault. You’re not doing something right. But going out there and trying to make a play for your guy, that’s playing baseball.”