David Wright: ‘Maybe Terry [Collins] saved me a trip to the DL’

11:23 PM ET

NEW YORK — New York Mets third baseman David Wright is uncertain when he will be able to return to the lineup after being scratched from Tuesday’s series opener against the Washington Nationals with a flare-up of the spinal stenosis in his lower back.

Wright wanted to try to play through the back discomfort Tuesday because Lucas Duda already was absent with his own back issue. But when manager Terry Collins learned from trainers that Wright was seeking additional treatment, Collins decided to scratch the captain.

Collins acknowledged after the 2-0 win against the Nationals that this was the first time since Wright returned from a four-month absence last August that the captain was unable to play because of back discomfort. Wright had been strategically rested but never had been unable to perform on a day the manager intended to use him.

Wright normally would be a no-brainer to be in the lineup against southpaw Gio Gonzalez on Wednesday, but he is unsure if he will be capable.

“I don’t know,” Wright said. “It’s just day-to-day. And I think that’s the most frustrating thing — you just never know how it’s going to feel waking up. You try to go through the preparation. …

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