No further damage to Noah discovered

ATLANTA — If no news is good news, Noah Syndergaard received some Thursday.

A second opinion by noted orthopedist Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles confirmed the Mets ace has a partially torn right lat, manager Terry Collins said after Thursday’s game at SunTrust Park was rained out. The second opinion could be deemed as a positive development in that no further damage was uncovered.

Syndergaard walked off the mound in Washington on Sunday grabbing at his right lat, only three days after he skipped a scheduled start because of soreness in his right biceps.

The Mets have put no timetable on Syndergaard’s return from the disabled list, but the expectation is he will miss at least 2-3 months.

T.J. Rivera is reaping the benefits of the work he received at first base during spring training.

The 28-year-old Bronx native was in the starting lineup for a seventh straight game on Thursday — before it was called in the fourth inning after a two-hour rain delay — which likely would not have occurred without that added versatility.

He will enter Friday on a 9for-23 (.391) tear since taking over first base, allowing Jay Bruce to vacate the position as the Mets await Lucas Duda’s return from the disabled list.

Even with Duda’s primary backup, Wilmer Flores, back with the team after a disabled list stint for a staph infection on his right knee, Collins said he intends to stick with Rivera at first base.

Travis d’Arnaud was absent from the starting lineup for a second straight night with soreness in his right wrist and was awaiting an examination from the doctor before first pitch. Collins had no update on d’Arnaud’s status after the game was postponed.

Friday will be Collins’ 1,000th game as Mets manager. Collins is set to surpass Davey Johnson (1984-90) as the longest tenured manager in franchise history this month. Johnson managed 1,012 games with the Mets.