Don’t expect a lot of pregame handshakes between the Jets and Dolphins running back Reggie Bush.
Bad blood has developed between the two parties over the knee injury Bush suffered in their game last month, his belief the Jets were out to injure him and his subsequent remarks about cornerback Darrelle Revis’ injury.
All of it adds up to an interesting storyline for Sunday’s game between the AFC East rivals at MetLife Stadium.
Bush suffered a bruised left knee in the Week 3 matchup when a group of Jets gang-tackled him and nose tackle Sione Po’uha fell on his leg just before halftime. He did not return to the game, but did not miss any additional time.
The star running back took offense to Jets coach Rex Ryan’s remark the week before that his team would put a little “hot sauce” on Bush. A few days after the game Bush said Revis’ season-ending left knee injury was an example of “what goes around comes around.”
Yesterday, Ryan said Bush misunderstood his “hot sauce” remark and that Bush should apologize for his Revis comments.
“I apologized for my comments, and I expect him to do the same,” the Jets coach said. “I never was saying we were going to try to injury Reggie Bush. That’s not even close.
“He’s going to get our attention. I’m sorry, but he’s the type of player that’s going to warrant a lot attention and we’re going to give it to him. … That was what I meant by my comments. If it was taken differently, out of context or whatever, I apologize for that. Trust me, we know when he’s in the game.
“He is still going to get our attention, but his things about Revis and all that kind of stuff … look, I understand that he got hurt in the game and that’s bad for football. We never want to hurt a player. I respect him as a player. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. I never want to see that.”
In South Florida, Bush was not buying Ryan’s explanation
“I don’t believe that. I don’t believe that at all,” Bush said. “But it is what it is. Like I said, the great thing about divisional games is you get to play them twice.”
Meanwhile, Jets safety LaRon Landry added his two cents, saying the Jets might be in Bush’s head after the injury. Landry was one of the Jets in on the tackle when Bush was injured, hitting him low and then clapping when he got up after Bush was injured.
“He will remember that hit,” Landry said. “Every time he sees me, he’ll remember the hit if I’m in the box or coming downhill, he will remember that hit.”
Bush has not been the same back statistically since the injury, failing to top 67 yards in any game. Landry said the injury could be on Bush’s mind.
“Just watch the way he runs,” he said. “We’ll see when he comes out here this Sunday. I’m not going to over-talk it and make a story.”
Bush was asked if he expected any retaliation for his remarks about Revis.
“Retaliation? They’re the ones who started it,” Bush said. “If there was ever any retaliation it would come from us. But you know what? With this team, and the caliber of guys and character of guys that we have, we play with respect for the game.
“It’s football. I didn’t go and complain or whine about being a target of the Jets. I expect that every game. So I wouldn’t expect it to be any different this game.”
Bush appeared to get injured by Po’uha falling on his leg after getting pushed by Dolphins guard Richie Incognito.
“Nobody intentionally tried to hurt him,” defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson said. “If he felt like we intentionally tried to hurt him, that’s just stupid on him. Nobody is out here trying to hurt nobody intentionally. His own man accidentally threw [Po’uha] into his legs.”
Stopping Bush will be a key for the Jets, who rank 30th in run defense. Last month, the Dolphins rushed for 185 yards even without having Bush in the second half.
“We’re going to make sure we stop Reggie Bush,” Wilkerson said. “He’s definitely not running on us.”
The Jets are a confident group entering this critical divisional game.
“This game is a must win,” Landry said. “We can sweep those guys and also go into the bye 4-4. That’s what we’re striving to do and that’s what we will do.”
brian.costello@nypost.com