Brandon Nimmo expects knee soreness to linger with timeline for Mets outfield return still murky

Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets from spring training PORT ST.LUCIE — Brandon Nimmo’s return to Grapefruit League action on Thursday went fine, but he’ll be dealing with his right knee soreness for the foreseeable future and is still unsure of when he’ll get back in the Mets outfield.Nimmo is scheduled to be back at designated hitter on Saturday, even as he acknowledged that pain remains in his knee after he had three DH at-bats Thursday at Clover Park.“For sure, there’s definitely still some soreness [and] still some pain when I get above those levels,’’ Nimmo said of when he runs at more than 80 percent even after receiving a gel injection in the knee.

“We try to keep things at a controlled level of pain.Up to a certain threshold is OK, but if you go much past that, then you do more damage than you’re trying to gain.”There’s still a bit of mystery as to what created the soreness, though Nimmo said he likely attributes it to a “tweak” he made in his swing this spring.“In spring training, you’re always trying to find the last 10 percent of your swing,” Nimmo said.

“I think I [ticked] it off with something I did there.Hindsight is 20/20.

I wish I hadn’t done that.Now we know and move on.”Nimmo wonders if ACL reconstruction in his right knee, when he was playing high school football 15 years ago, played a role in his current injury.While the soreness now is not in the ACL, he said because of that long-ago injury, it added stress to his MCL and cartilage.Coupled with the wear and tear of having played in the majors for nearly 10 years, Nimmo said, “You start to need a little bit of extra help on some things.”Asked if he might need to explore a procedure on the knee following the season, Nimmo said, “I’m really hoping not.

The hope is you can still go many more years without arthroscopic surgery or anything like t...