Yankees’ Anthony Rizzo discusses his “rough week” with COVID-19, is nearing a return

anthony rizzo, yankees

New York Yankees’ first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who came over from the Chicago Cubs before the trade deadline, revealed the details of his battle against COVID-19, one that knocked him out of action for several days in an important stretch of games.

While his return to the Yankees’ active roster isn’t imminent, he is getting closer.

He dealt with most of the symptoms of the disease and was “knocked out” for about a week, as he told NJ Advance Media himself. He confirmed he couldn’t taste or smell, which are pretty typical signs.

“(I) feel a lot better than I expected,” Rizzo told reporters after working out before the Yankees’ victory against the Boston Red Sox in the first game of the doubleheader.

The Yankees’ slugger could be back playing in a few days.

“Soon,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “We’ll see if it’s tomorrow or the next day. We’ve just got to see where we’re at today with how he’s doing, how he responds to the uptick in workload.”

The Yankees’ slugger told his story

Rizzo explained that he started feeling some symptoms on August 7. He said he was “tired and achy.” After that game, he tried to eat, but couldn’t taste the food. At that point he was tested, and the result was positive.

His rough week started at that point. He was continually exhausted and lacked appetite. Slowly, but surely, he was able to take walks. He couldn’t stand the lack of activity, saying that “watching games on the TV, it’s a lot more stressful than playing in them.”

On Tuesday, he ran, took grounders and hit in the cage.

At this point in time, he is still yet to fully recover his taste and smell, but they “come and go.”

He will need to hit during bullpens and batting practice to have a shot at returning this week to the Yankees, but he has a good chance of doing so.