Francisco Lindor warns Mets fans he’ll be limited if he comes back at all

When Francisco Lindor went down with his back injury, it truly felt that their dream run to the postseason was bound to hit a screeching halt. I mean, how was this team that had a brutal upcoming schedule going to fend off the Atlanta Braves and make the postseason with their MVP missing any time let alone an entire home stand?

Well, the New York Mets not only survived without Lindor, but they thrived. Sure, they lost both games without him last weekend, but they swept the Washington Nationals in their return to Citi Field and then took three of four from the Philadelphia Phillies. They are now two games ahead of the Braves with a three-game series in Atlanta looming. They control their own destiny.

Winning games without Lindor was awesome to see, but now, the series with Atlanta is less than 48 hours away, and there's no telling whether Lindor will be in the lineup. All we do know is that if he's going to play, he won't be 100 percent healthy. Just listen to what he had to say after their thrilling win on Sunday.

Francisco Lindor won't be fully healthy this season if he can return at all

Lindor's update can be viewed as both positive and negative. On the positive front, Lindor left the door open for him to play in Tuesday's series opener. Even if he can't go on Tuesday, it sounds like he's expecting to return at some point down the stretch. On the flip side, though, his return is far from certain, and even if he does return, he won't be 100 percent.

Clearly, this back injury has taken more time than anyone expected it to heal. Lindor originally said he was planning on missing somewhere between two and five days before their recent home stand began, but he wound up missing all seven games at Citi Field. He's slowly improving, but it's hard to know just how ready he'll be.

Lindor being less than 100 percent is far from ideal, but there are two things for Mets fans to hang their hat on. First, virtually nobody is fully healthy this time of year. Second, even, say, 70 percent of Lindor is better than no Lindor, right?

This man was carrying this team for the bulk of the season, putting together an MVP-caliber type of performance that only Shohei Ohtani's ridiculousness could overshadow. Luisangel Acuña has gotten off to an electric start to his MLB career, but how long can his great play last? Plus, even Lindor at 70 percent is absolutely an upgrade.

If the Mets are going to make the playoffs or do any damage in October, chances are, they're going to need their best player to be on the field. They've done a good job surviving so far without him, but it's hard to bank on that lasting. They need Lindor, even if he's less than 100 percent.