Wheeler says he’s

HOWARD SIMMONS/DAILY NEWS

PORT ST. LUCIE — Zack Wheeler was smiling and joking around in the clubhouse Friday afternoon. After a scare with his surgically repaired right elbow slowed down his start to spring training, he said he “feels good” and expects to be back on the mound this weekend.

“I threw today and it felt good,” Wheeler said. “We’ll go from there.”

Wheeler, who is nearing the second anniversary of his 2015 Tommy John surgery, played catch on flat ground for the second straight day Friday. Tuesday, after throwing his first bullpen session of the spring, Wheeler felt tenderness in his elbow, causing the Mets to raise the caution flag on his start to spring training.

“Not much about this,” Sandy Alderson said when asked about his concern level with Wheeler’s recent bout with tenderness. But the Mets GM admitted there has to be concern about his overall recovery. Generally, pitchers are back from Tommy John surgery in 13 to 18 months.

“It’s something he’s got to get through,” Alderson said of Wheeler’s journey back to the mound. “He’s got to find his way.”

Wheeler last pitched in the majors Sept. 25, 2014, in a 3-0 loss to the Nationals. He felt elbow discomfort through the end of the 2014 season and over the winter before he was finally shut down and required Tommy John surgery during the 2015 spring training. His surgery was complicated by a tear in a tendon in his elbow.

His rehab has been marked with setbacks from needing surgery to remove a stitch a year after the initial surgery, to an irritated nerve and a strained flexor muscle.

Wheeler was expected back in the middle of the 2016 season, but only made one minor-league rehab start.

WRIGHT TO THROW

David Wright is expected to take his final test in his rehab from neck surgery Sunday. The Mets third baseman has not thrown a baseball since surgery to repair a herniated disc in June. The Mets’ plans for him will hinge on how he responds to throwing and gets through spring training.

Wright has played just 75 regular-season games over the past two seasons because of major issues with his spine.