Mets injury update: David Wright wants to return this season, but has no timetable

David Wright seems to miss baseball even more than Mets fans miss him.

The Mets' captain and third baseman, who was placed on the disabled list on April 15 with a hamstring pull and then diagnosed with spinal stenosis a month later, has been rehabbing in Los Angeles with Dr. Robert Watkins for weeks. From the clubhouse on Friday, where he joined the team in their series against the Dodgers, Wright said he still plans to return this year.

"We're getting down to the second half of the season now, and I feel like I've got one shot to get this thing right."

Last month, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson told reporters that "realistically, I'm looking at probably the All-Star break as a possibility" for Wright's return. Instead, Wright is just now walking without pain.

"That's been an accomplishment as far as just being upright a little longer and walking and being virtually pain-free."

Before being approved for baseball activities, Wright said he has to show Watkins that he can run without pain, which he has yet to do. After being cleared, he will likely continue rehabbing in Los Angeles so the medical staff can continue their work with him, before playing in some games with St. Lucie. Wright has some timetables in mind for himself, but declined to share.

"It's a slow progress, but it's a progress indeed. Every day it seems like they challenge me more and more with different things that are not necessarily trying to aggravate it, but are trying to take a step in the right direction to see what my body can handle and what it can't handle."

Watch Wright talk about his rehab in a video from MLB's Anthony DiComo: