Aaron Boone reveals a realistic return date for injured star Juan Soto

The New York Yankees were in the middle of beating the Minnesota Twins for what felt like the millionth time in a row on Thursday before the game was delayed due to rain. When the game finally resumed, Yankees star Juan Soto was nowhere to be found. Panic ensued.

Soto wound up leaving the game due to left forearm discomfort. It turns out, Soto had been dealing with the forearm issue for about a week. It hadn't impacted him negatively on the baseball field, but it was enough of a concern that the Yankees did not want him warming up again after the delay. He got imaging on Friday, but that came back clean. All he had was inflammation.

Soto got Friday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers off, but he was seen numerous times on the top step of the dugout with batting gloves on and a bat in his hand, appearing as if he was going to pinch-hit. Aaron Boone revealed after the game that Soto was not going to hit at all that day, and his comments before Saturday's game gave Yankees fans more of an idea of when they could expect to see him on the field again.

Juan Soto's potential return date revealed by Yankees manager Aaron Boone

There you have it. Yankees fans will have to wait at least a couple of days to see Soto back in action. He's not in Saturday's lineup, and based on these comments, fans shouldn't expect to see him in Sunday's lineup either, which is a shame. The Yankees scored just one run in 11 innings and lost on Friday against the powerful Dodgers without Soto.

It's highly unlikely we see Soto in the Dodgers' series, but the door is open for Soto to return to action sometime during their upcoming seven-game road trip which includes four games in Kansas City and three games in Boston.

An injured list possibility has not been ruled out, which is not what Yankees fans want to hear, but it sounds as if for now at least, it's unlikely he will land on there.

It sounds like the Yankees are simply waiting for inflammation to subside. It's hard to pinpoint exactly when that'll be, which is why Boone hasn't explicitly said when he expects Soto back in the starting lineup. Based on his comments, he should be back sometime next week. If he isn't, it might be time for fans to panic just a bit.