Rested Conforto back to '100 percent'

NEW YORK -- A week of rest and rehab from a concussion has Michael Conforto back to “100 percent,” he said Friday. Conforto expects to come off the seven-day injured list either Saturday or Sunday, as soon as Major League Baseball -- which oversees all concussion cases -- approves him to do so.

“I feel ready to go,” Conforto said. “But we’re going to be smart about it.”

Conforto restarted baseball activities in full on Friday, taking batting practice with his teammates. He has undergone a battery of diagnostic tests over the past week, and now just needs MLB approval to return.

The Mets’ starting right fielder, Conforto was batting .271 with nine home runs and a .926 OPS in 42 games prior to his injury.

“I was definitely lucky to not have terrible symptoms,” Conforto said Friday, speaking publicly for the first time since suffering his concussion. “The training staff and the doctors have been very, very meticulous, very careful with me, as they should be. These things are nothing to mess around with. I’ve been very thankful for that.”

That care included a recommendation to sleep 12-14 hours per night, with the aid of melatonin. But the bulk of it was a precaution. Although Conforto says he lost consciousness after his collision with Robinson Cano that resulted in the May 16 concussion, he experienced nothing worse than a headache that night. The following morning, Conforto felt back to normal. He has been symptom-free since that time.

“I feel normal,” Conforto said. “I feel happy that I’m back to doing full baseball activity. Obviously, the road trip was tough and not being there was even tougher, but it’s been really fun to be with these guys through the last series, and starting a new series today. I feel good. I feel 100 percent.”

Conforto’s greatest regret is not calling louder for the popup down the right-field line that both he and Cano pursued, resulting in the collision. He has since watched video of the play, and does not remember a 10-second blip immediately after impact.

“I kind of wanted to go back in time and tell myself to pull up or call it a little louder,” Conforto said. “We could have avoided that, and maybe things would have turned out differently. But it is what it is. It’s in the past now. And the good thing is, I’m feeling good.”

On the mend

Left-hander Justin Wilson, who has been sidelined since May 7 due to left elbow soreness, restarted a throwing program Thursday. Wilson plans to take his rehab slow as he graduates from flat-ground catch to bullpen sessions and, potentially, a Minor League rehab assignment.

However, Wilson does not believe he is at risk of suffering a setback, as he did upon returning from a similar injury in May.

“No concerns,” Wilson said. “I feel farther along than I did last time when I started throwing.”

New agent

Mets outfielder Carlos Gomez has changed representation, from Scott Boras to the MVP Sports Group.

Just like old times

Joel Youngblood and Doug Flynn, who played together on the Mets from 1977-81, returned to Flushing on Friday as part of the Mets’ commitment to alumni relations. The two spent time in the dugout discussing their Mets teams, which never finished above fifth place.

“You play good or bad, you get your name in the paper,” said Flynn, who was part of the Mets’ return for Tom Seaver in 1977. “And if you play hard and keep your mouth shut, the fans are really good to you. They’re fair. They just don’t want your alibiing when you screw up. And Lord knows, we screwed up a bunch.”

“Having the opportunity to play in New York, for this city, as an athlete, was unbelievable,” Youngblood said. “There’s no other place in the United States where you can have this type of coverage, attention and the amount of knowledge that the fans have about you. If you played hard, regardless of how the season ended up, they liked you.”

Youngblood laughed.

“So we learned how to play really hard.”