Pain in the neck! Mets hoping captain can return quickly from latest issue

David Wright told doctors his sore neck felt slightly better on Sunday, but the team is still waiting for antiinflammatory medication to take effect and he is scheduled to be examined again Monday.

Wright’s second straight missed start meant Wilmer Flores started at third in the Mets’ 4-2 loss to the Dodgers Sunday night, adding more issues to the spinal stenosis that has already limited Wright.

Manager Terry Collins said the neck soreness was not related to Wright’s back injury, but could be tied to his shoulder problems.

Either way, it has led to more missed games — and there are no guarantees when he’ll return.

“It’s been hard,” Collins said of dealing with Wright’s physical issues. “I’m not lying, it’s hard for him, too. We talked this morning again, too. He knows how impor- tant he is, especially the way he’s been swinging lately.”

After dealing with some inconsistency, Wright had homered in three consecutive games for the first time since 2013 before his neck injury sidelined him Saturday.

“This thing just popped up and I told him, ‘Listen, this is just something we have to get through, but we have to do it right and make sure that we get it out so it doesn’t keep recurring,’ ’’ Collins said. “So we’re hoping [Monday] when he wakes up that he feels a whole lot better.”

That’s where the Mets are these days with their captain and his health: hope.

And while Wright has often fought Collins and his other managers about staying on the field, Collins said the captain understands the situation.

“He’s the best,” Collins said. “I’ve told you guys major league players, they have great pride, make no mis-

take about it. They play because they’ve got great confidence, they’ve got great pride in how they play [and] they don’t like to be embarrassed. And this guy’s handled it pretty good. Because he’s not satisfied with what’s gone on so far.”

Wright’s numbers aren’t great, even after the recent power surge, which Collins said is also hard on Wright.

“As I’ve told him, ‘We don’t know how you’re going to do. You don’t know how you’re going to do,” Collins said. “‘OK, you’ve had a couple of bad games, but you’ve also had some pretty good games, too.’ So we know that’s in there.

“And I’ve said, ‘You’ve got to wait until the weather warms up to where you feel a bit more comfortable on a daily basis.’ And I thought this week he was starting to swing pretty good. And now this thing has crept in and [it’s] a little step backwards, but hopefully we’ll get through it.”