Mets player Francisco Lindor suffers side shot while recovering from injury

Francisco Lindor showed signs of improvement on Friday, but that came after the Mets star received a facet injection a day earlier to treat his ongoing back problems.

During a facet injection, a mixture of anesthetic and steroids is injected into the facet joints of the spine to relieve pain and reduce inflammation.

Without this help, Lindor says his recovery would not be quick enough.

“I'm trying to do everything I can to get back as soon as possible,” Lindor said after sitting out Friday's Mets' 12-2 loss to the Phillies at Citi Field. “It was always going in the right direction, but I didn't feel like I could come back any sooner or later. And with the injection, they said there was a chance that could happen.”

“After the third day, I said that things were slowly getting better, but that it wasn't a turning point yet,” said Carlos Mendoza. “That's when the trainers and doctors decided to give me the injection.”

Twenty-four hours after the injection, Lindor admitted he was feeling better, and that seemed to be the case before the game as the four-time All-Star returned to his baseball activities.

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

However, the shortstop could not yet give a percentage improvement in the results.

He noticed that he could move better than a few days ago, including tying his shoelaces better.

Lindor has heard mixed reviews about the recovery timeline – some say recovery is immediate, within two to three days, others say it takes a week.

After recovery, monitoring of the back pain is no longer expected, he explained.

“(I'm) not worried, but nervous,” Lindor said. “I believe in what the guys have. The guys have scored a lot of runs the last four games. They've 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 except try to find ways to get involved and be around the players, and hopefully I'll be better soon.”

Friday's game was the Mets' fifth game without Lindor after he left Sunday's 2-1 loss to the Phillies with back problems.

He left the field before the end of the second inning, shortly after missing last Saturday's game due to back pain he felt the day before.

Lindor had been having back pain for about two weeks before he sustained it when he awkwardly stepped on second base a week ago.

Mendoza indicated before batting practice on Friday that once Lindor makes the step to baseball, he could play shortstop and leadoff the next day.

“He's Francisco Lindor,” Mendoza said. “We're talking about a potential MVP here. If he says he's ready, it doesn't matter where we are (win or lose). He's on the roster.”