As we have seen with David Wright some injuries are more than just baseball injuries. Some injuries have long lasting effects, and they affect your quality of life away from the game. You want these players to recover not just because you want to see them back on the field, you want to see them recover because you don’t want to see someone suffer. 

That may be where we are now with Neil Walker. 

Walker has apparently been dealing with a back issue since his day with the Pirates.  It flared up in June, and it has flared up again. Only this time, his back problem has apparently gotten worse – much worse.

Despite the Mets being in the thick of the Wild Card race, Walker has been unable to play since Saturday. Coming into last night’s game, the  Mets have announced Walker can no longer play every day. Worse yet, he has tingling in his back which is affecting his legs. There are even more dire reports suggesting Walker is experiencing tingling on one side of his body. It’s at the point now where the Mets wonder aloud about whether Walker’s season is over. Terry Collins put it succinctly when he said, “There’s a lot of concern.”  (mlb.com)

Right now, the plan is for Walker to get a second opinion to see if he really can play. Because they’re the Mets, and they have all their injured player’s play, the team still intends to have Walker play through the pain. Given the Mets recent history with back injuries, Wright and Lucas Duda, it’s hard to feel optimistic about Walker’s chances of not just being able to play, but also being able to contribute this season. 

No matter what happens, Walker has to do what is right for him and his family. While the Mets need his bat in the lineup for the stretch run, no one wants to see him befall what has befallen Wright over the past couple of years.