New York Mets' David Wright iffy for Opening Day with shoulder impingement

David Wright's status for Opening Day is up in the air after the Mets third baseman was diagnosed with an impingement in his right shoulder, New York general manager Sandy Alderson said Tuesday.

The 34-year-old Wright will not throw a baseball for "a couple of weeks," Alderson said.

"What's happening here is that the muscles around the shoulder have not re-engaged since the surgery," Alderson said, via ESPN.com. "That's taking more time than anticipated."

The oft-injured Wright had surgery to repair a herniated disc in his neck last June. Wright played 37 games last season after appearing in 38 the year before.

"This is all part of the process of rehabilitating from the neck surgery," Alderson said. "It's taking longer than I'm sure David would have hoped, and we would have hoped, but it's part of the process."

If Wright is not ready in time, Jose Reyes will likely start the season at third base. Reyes played 50 games at third last season after re-joining the Mets as a free agent last June.

Last season, Wright hit .226 with seven home runs and 14 RBIs. The seven-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove Award recipient is a career .296 hitter with 242 homers, 970 RBIs and 196 stolen bases in 1,583 games.

Wright is owed $67 million by the Mets over the next four seasons.