Mets injury news: Wright could enter rehab games next week

David Wright fielded grounders and threw a baseball on Tuesday at Citi Field as he continues to work his way back from spinal stenosis, which has kept him out of action for roughly three weeks.

After Wright spoke with reporters, Terry Collins said the plan is for Wright to head to Port St. Lucie next week and potentially enter rehab games shortly after.

Wright began baseball activities in Los Angeles last week.

Wright has been out since the middle of April — first due to a hamstring strain and then because of the spinal stenosis in his back.

The spinal stenosis has resulted in Wright being virtually shut down for the last two months, with doctors refusing to clear him until he shows that he’s pain-free.

The Mets have said all along that doctors have advised them that the spinal stenosis is something Wright will be able to play through once he’s cleared, and Wright has expressed optimism on a few occasions that his return could be close.

Thoughts:

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With Wright finally back to doing baseball activity, if he has no setbacks from this point on — a huge if — the thought was that he could potentially return to the Mets by late-August.

However, it’s fair to wonder if that estimate is a bit conservative. If Wright enters rehab games next week, having him back in the third week of August seems reasonable.

As promising as it would be and as much of a help a healthy David Wright would be to the Mets, the club should still be operating as if his return is something that’s not guaranteed.

Relying on Wright to come back and be productive would be foolish. He may come back, be pain-free, and produce, but that’s something the team simply can’t afford to count on.

Instead, the Mets should be doing everything they can between now and Wright’s potential return date to upgrade by adding one more offensive piece — likely an outfielder — via trade.