/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55169821/usa_today_10046100.0.jpg)
Noah Syndergaard appeared on WFAN Thursday morning and spoke with hosts Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton about the torn lat he suffered in a start against the Nationals on April 30.
On a potential return time to the team, he said:
“Lats are tricky, just because it's very specific. If you come back too soon, you could really put yourself in a situation to injure yourself again. I probably won't be able to pick up a ball for quite some time. I have no pain right now, but I want to make sure my lat is nice and stretched out and flexible before I'm ready to go."
It’s nice to see Syndergaard is taking the injury as serious as the Mets are and willing to wait as long as it takes until he’s back to 100 percent. On the other hand, it’s unfortunate that he remains without a timetable. Mets fans concerned that this setback will slow him down in the weight room have nothing to fear, as Syndergaard also mentioned how he wants to “try to be as strong as possible, try to be as much like Nolan Ryan. That guy was all about lifting and working hard and was able to pitch until he was 48 years old."
Syndergaard had a 3.29 ERA in five starts before getting injured, and if you take out the game in which he presumably got hurt, he had a 1.73 ERA and 0.88 WHIP. The Mets will need the healthiest Syndergaard they can get if they want to make another run at the postseason.