Mets injury news: David Wright shut down with lower back pain

David Wright‘s hamstring is “doing very well,” but he has experienced lower back discomfort over the last few days that has resulted in his rehab being shut down, the Mets announced.

Wright was examined on Thursday at the Hospital for Special Surgery, and an MRI taken revealed no structural damage to his back. However, he will not resume baseball activity until the back discomfort subsides.

Wright had hoped to run the bases on Thursday and Friday for the first time since suffering the strained right hamstring, with the hope of entering a minor league rehab game this weekend.

The likely return date for Wright was May 15, but that will almost certainly be pushed back due to the lower back issue he now has.

Wright has been out since suffering the strained hamstring while sliding into second base at Citi Field on April 14.

In Wright’s stead, Daniel Murphy has been playing third base with Dilson Herrera at second base.

Thoughts:

On its face, this seems like the best bad news ever. Wright has lower back pain, but the MRI revealed no damage. While Wright will be shut down until the pain subsides, the Mets didn’t say that he’d been given anything for the pain – perhaps a good sign.

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However, there is simply no way to put a timetable on this until the Mets provide more information, which is frustrating.

Perhaps Wright will feel better in a day or two and be cleared. Perhaps this is something that will linger for weeks. There’s simply no way to know at this point. I expect Sandy Alderson to weigh in on the issue later today and give some clarity, but that’s not a given.

Either way, the fact that Wright is shut down right now means that he still has one hurdle remaining in his rehab from the hamstring injury, and that’s running the bases. Whether or not Wright will be able to pick up right where he left off once he’s cleared to resume activity remains to be seen.

In the meantime, the “what will the Mets do with Dilson Herrera when Wright returns” questions will go on the back-burner for at least another few days.

I’ve seen some people refer to this as a blessing in disguise, but I can’t agree with that. David Wright is the most important offensive piece for this team, and every additional day that passes without him being able to contribute is not a good day.