Mets’ Juan Soto leaves game with injury in potential calamity

NEW YORK — Initially, Juan Soto stayed in Wednesday night’s game after fouling a ball off his right ankle in the third inning.

Mets fans could exhale.

The last thing this club needs is for Soto to go back on the injured list.

That relief was temporary, though.

Soto was pulled from the game four innings later. He took his at-bat in the sixth, grounding back to the pitcher, but in a big spot in the seventh — with the go-ahead run on third base — MJ Melendez entered as a pinch hitter in Soto’s spot.

Taking Soto out of the game in that spot, with a chance to take the lead, is a glaring concern.

Soto was in plenty of pain after he smashed a 2-0 pitch from Tigers left-hander Framber Valdez down onto his right ankle. It hit him in the gap on his shin guard, the only unprotected section between his shin and foot.

The star outfielder grimaced as he limped and hobbled out of the box and into foul territory, taking a knee in front of the Mets’ dugout. After a lengthy visit with Mets manager Carlos Mendoza and a member of the training staff, Soto walked gingerly back to home plate, remaining in the game. He ended up striking out swinging in that at-bat, showing frustration when he got back to the dugout.

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Soto sat out for three weeks earlier this season with a left calf strain, an injury he suffered while running from first to third base in San Francisco. The outfielder also had an injury scare in his throwing arm, tightness in his forearm that briefly limited him to designated hitter duties.

For Thursday’s matchup versus the Tigers, Mets -1.5 runline is listed at +145 over on