Yankees Player Set for Friday Return After Injury Scare

Reinforcements are on the way for the New York Yankees. The team is expecting to get a promising rookie back in action in the very near future.

Rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr. missed his fourth straight game on Wednesday as the Yankees defeated the Angels 6-3. However, the team expects him back in time for Friday’s game against the Padres.

The rookie originally tweaked his knee during a game against the Red Sox on Aug. 29. He headed to the bench while Jose Caballero took over at shortstop.

Lombard has since focused on his recovery as the Yankees have continued with the regular season.

George Lombard Jr said MRI showed knee is structurally fine… just a little inflammation by patella #yankees

— Meredith Marakovits (@M_Marakovits) August 30, 2026

Part of this process included running the bases on Wednesday. He also took some ground balls while testing his agility.

“It’s been progressing every day,” Lombard said about his recovery, per the New York Post. “There was just a little bit of inflammation in there, so it was just random moves (where I could feel it).”

Lombard has posted 79 at-bat appearances. He has delivered 20 hits, 12 runs, two home runs, and six RBIs. He has added 28 put-outs as a defender.

Getting Lombard back in the lineup will be important for the Yankees as the team closes out the regular season. The New York-based franchise plans on scoring some more wins and entering the postseason with some serious momentum.

That journey begins on Friday with the series opener against the Padres. This is a game that the Yankees will enter as the favorites.

Polymarket traders currently list the Yankees as having a 55% chance to win this Sept. 4 game. The Padres sit at 46% as of Sept. 3.

The Yankees are actually favored in all of the Padres games. The Polymarket traders list the team as having more than 50% odds to win each of the games in this series.

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