Derek Jeter One Step Closer To Returning To The Field

Derek Jeter has been cleared to return to full baseball activities, keeping him on track for his target date of getting back into the New York Yankees lineup by mid-July.

Jeter had been restricted in his rehab from a broken ankle he suffered in the playoffs last year, but now will be able to run at full speed and take ground balls.

The 38-year-old Jeter was examined by Dr. Robert Anderson, who performed surgery on the Yankees captain’s left ankle last year. Anderson had dealt Jeter a setback in April when he found a crack in the ankle and ordered him to stop rehab.

Jeter has spent much time at the Yankees’ training facility in Tampa, Florida, but also traveled to the Bronx to attend games.

As he worked on his rehab and his time off stretched further into the 2013 season, Jeter showed signs of frustration.

“I’ve been told this bone will heal, and when it heals, I’ll be ready to go,” Jeter said in late April. “It’s frustrating that I can’t magically make it heal sooner than it’s taking, but I have no doubt I’ll be back.”

He also dispelled talk that his injury was related to his advanced age.

“Me breaking my ankle wasn’t just because I was getting older,” Jeter said. “I played on something that I probably shouldn’t have played on and it ended up breaking. It wasn’t because of my ‘advanced’ age that my ankle broke.”

The Yankees currently stand three games back of Boston in the AL East and are riding a three-game losing streak. Despite a 37-29 record, the team has struggled at the play and is in the lower half of the league for batting average and runs scored.

When he returns, Derek Jeter hopes to be able to replicate the success he had last year with the Yankees, when he averaged .326 and led the league in hits with 216.

[Derek Jeter image via Keith Allison]