Several times over the past few days, Aaron Boone had acknowledged the gravity of the moment.
“It’s Gerrit Cole,” the Yankees manager had said twice, no further explanation needed.
The spring nightmare has nearly passed, and Gerrit Cole is still expected to be the team’s ace this season.
After Cole visited with Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Thursday, the belief is the reigning Cy Young award winner ace can avoid Tommy John surgery, The Post has learned.
The initial recommendation for Cole’s troubled right elbow is rest, rehab and some conservative, non-surgical treatments.
The belief is he will miss one to two months or perhaps just a bit more.
Cole met with ElAttrache in Los Angeles for further testing on an elbow that was not bouncing back from his outings as Cole wanted.
ElAttrache apparently has agreed with team doctors that there is no tear in his UCL.
The 33-year-old workhorse will miss some time, but at this point the Yankees are expecting to get the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner back for a season in which he is needed.
Cole set off alarms around the Yankees in undergoing an MRI exam Monday after a three-inning, 37-pitch live batting-practice session on March 7. A CT scan and X-rays followed, and still more tests and a new pair of eyes were needed, so Cole flew to see one of the world’s best-known sports orthopedic surgeons.
Visits to ElAttrache often end in dread, but Thursday night was cause for celebration around the Yankees.
