Matt Harvey Injury Update: Mets Ace Spoke to Roy Halladay About Injury; Could Avoid Surgery

There may be some good news for Mets fans following Matt Harvey’s devastating injury—his optimistic tweet Tuesday may not have come out of thin air.

The Mets ace sent out this tweet Tuesday:

According to ESPNNewYork.com, Harvey spoke to another ace who also had a ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) tear—Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Roy Halladay.

"It just sounded similar to what I had," Halladay said according to the website. "I was talking to [Mets manager] Terry Collins, and he asked if I'd talk to him. We just talked a little bit about some of the strengthening stuff I did. Most every pitcher is going to have changes in the UCL, so once they get the inflammation down and he gets that second opinion, if it turns out that it's not something that has to be repaired ... it sounded to me that it's very similar to what I had.”

"Really, it was a strengthening program we started during the winter, doing a lot of wrist and forearm manual exercises and some different treatments. ... So I just shared that with him and what I went through,” Halladay continued. “[Dr. James] Andrews had told me that they felt like at some point they would have to go in and repair it. That was eight years ago, and I've never had an issue since."

If it turns out, Harvey’s tear is anything like Halladay’ there’s a strong possibility the 24-year old Met could skip Tommy John surgery and comeback as his dominant self.

Since 2007, Halladay has had six seasons with an era under 4.00, four seasons with over 200 strikeouts and two 20-win seasons. He also won the Cy Young Award in 2010.

Mets general manager Sandy Alderson told the media Monday that the team will have to wait two to three weeks before they can determine the severity of Harvey’s injury and whether or not it will need surgery. Both the Mets organization and their fans would not mind if Harvey’s situation—and career—progressed similar to that of Halladay.