Francisco Lindor gets facet shot in back with Mets return timeline still murky

Francisco Lindor showed signs of progressing Friday, but it came after the Mets star received a facet shot for his lingering back issue a day earlier.

A facet shot is an injection of a mixture of anesthetic and steroids into the facet joints of the spine to help relieve pain and reduce inflammation.

Without it, Lindor didn’t think his recovery would come fast enough.

“Trying to do whatever it takes to come back as soon as I can,” Lindor said after sitting out the Mets’ 12-2 loss to the Phillies at Citi Field on Friday. “It was always trending in the right direction but it didn’t feel like I could get back sooner rather than later. And with the injection, they said there was a possibility that that could happen.”

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“After day three, I think I said it’s slowly getting better but not turning the corner,” Carlos Mendoza said. “That’s when trainers and the doctors decided to go ahead and do the shot.”

Twenty-four hours after the injection, Lindor admitted he felt better and he seemingly appeared so prior to the game as the four-time All-Star progressed to baseball activities.

He played catch, ran and took batting practice, and later trotted off the field and excitedly said he was “feeling good.”

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However, the shortstop couldn’t put a percentage of improvement on the results yet.

He noted he can move around better than a couple of days ago, including an improvement in tying his shoelaces.

Lindor has heard mixed reviews of the recovery timeline — some that come in immediately, within two to three days, and others a week.

After recovery, the back soreness isn’t something that is expected to need monitoring, he explained.

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“[I’m] not worried, but antsy,” Lindor said. “I believe in what the guys have. The guys have scored a lot of runs in the past four games. They have played extremely well. I believe in what we have. … And I want to be there. I want to be there. I even have a whistle in the dugout. I don’t know what else to do besides trying to figure ways to engage myself and be with the players and hopefully I get better soon.”

Friday’s game was the Mets’ fifth game without Lindor after his early exit from Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the Phillies with back discomfort.

He left before the bottom of the second inning just after missing last Saturday’s game due to back soreness he felt a day earlier.

Lindor had been experiencing back discomfort for about two weeks before tweaking it when he awkwardly stepped on second base a week ago.

Mendoza indicated prior to batting practice Friday that once Lindor took the step of performing baseball activities, he could be holding down shortstop and leading off as soon as the next day.

“He’s Francisco Lindor,” Mendoza said. “We’re talking about a potential MVP here. When he says he is ready to go, it doesn’t matter where we are [winning or losing]. He’s in the lineup.”

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