Yankees first injury update on Aaron Judge sounds ominous [UPDATED]

Aaron Judge was hit by a pitch on Tuesday night, but his return to centerfield for the next inning gave New York Yankees fans some relief. It turns out, that sense of relief was a tease. Now concern is higher than ever.

After Judge ultimately exited the game in the fourth inning, the Yankees announced that he will undergo imaging at NewYork-Presbyterian. Then team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad will examine the star outfielder.

Here's the thing, they can do basic x-rays at Yankee Stadium. Sending him to the hospital suggests there's something potentially serious going on.

Aaron Boone didn't do much to assuage fears by declining to reveal the results of the initial X-rays.

Aaron Judge injury update: X-rays came back negative

UPDATE: Judge himself delivered the best news possible revealing that X-rays and CT scans came back negative.

ORIGINAL: The best-case scenario is that initial X-rays were negative but they want to be extra certain Judge is fine, so they're just being cautious with more imaging. With any luck, Boone will be able to announce a positive prognosis by Wednesday.

Unfortunately, a worst-case scenario is also possible. Dr. Jesse Morse laid out the more terrifying possibility on Twitter:

We won't know what's going on with Judge until the Yankees give their next update. For now, it's concerning that New York's first tweet on the issue wasn't a simple, "X-rays were negative."

Judge has been immense so far this season. He went into Tueswday's game with the Baltimore Orioles leading the majors with 26 home runs and 64 RBI. He's slashing .299/.425/.686 with an absurd OPS of 1.110. He's producing numbers comparable to his MVP season in 2022.

With Judge raking, the Yankees have the best record in baseball and look like a true contender. Losing their talisman for an extended period of time would be devastating, there's no other way to put it.

Last year's campaign was painful enough with Judge dealing with a nagging foot injury. The last thing the Yankees want is a repeat.