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PORT ST. LUCIE — In their quest to recover for Opening Day, it’s advantage David Wright over Daniel Murphy in the battle of Mets rib-cage injuries.
“I’m a lot tougher than Murph, so that doesn’t concern me,” Wright said jokingly yesterday.
As both players continue receiving treatment, manager Terry Collins remains confident Wright will be his Opening Day third baseman. Collins said he is less optimistic about Murphy, who still hasn’t started taking at-bats after sustaining the injury early in camp. The manager divulged Murphy’s rib cage strain is more severe than Wright’s.
In the meantime, Collins is evaluating Jordany Valdespin as the potential starter at second base, but leaning toward Justin Turner — provided Turner is healthy and not needed to play third base should Wright remain sidelined.
Turner, who sprained his right ankle on Saturday, has begun participating in drills, and the Mets are hopeful he can return to the lineup tomorrow.
“[Turner] would probably be the guy I would lean to [at second base], because he’s done it,” Collins said. “He’s done it at this level and he’s done it successfully. But I’ll look and see how his ankle responds.”
Valdespin, who has been the Mets’ best hitter this spring, could be the choice to play right field for the opener — with Marlon Byrd in center — if he’s not needed to play second base.
Wright received a cortisone shot on Friday for his “moderate” left rib-cage strain. Yesterday was the fifth day of his mandated 3-5 days without activity, but Wright has not begun working out. He indicated the soreness has started to subside.
“I’m in a better position than Murph, obviously, because I’ve been playing in games and taking swings,” said Wright, who incurred the soreness while playing for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. “Obviously it’s something you want to be cautious with, but for me it’s about getting to where the pain is not there anymore.
“I don’t think I need that much time after the pain is gone to kind of get ready as far as baseball stuff goes. I played my last game a week ago so it’s not that big of a deal.”
Murphy thought he was on track for Opening Day until last weekend, when he incurred stiffness in the right rib cage after playing defense and running bases in a minor league game.
“It’s difficult to be patient, but that is where growth comes from — patience — so I’m working on it,” Murphy said.
Hitting coach Dave Hudgens said he ideally would like to have Murphy take 60 at-bats before appearing in a regular-season game in the majors, but could live with 30-40. He also would like to see those at-bats spread out — players sometimes attempt to cram in 10 at-bats in a day participating in minor league exhibition games.
“You go to minor league camp and get 10 at-bats in a day, you kind of rush the process a little bit,” Hudgens said. “It’s not the same, plus you don’t want to overload it, either.”
Hudgens called strained rib-cage muscles the “injury of the new millennium.” He believes they can be prevented.
“Everybody has their theories, but I think guys should maybe swing the bat — I don’t want to say a little bit more — but during the offseason maybe just hit off the tee,” Hudgens said. “Keep that rotation, just keep that movement, because everybody works out hard and everybody does a lot of core and everybody is super strong coming into spring training.
“But it’s like you should keep that movement going throughout the offseason instead of just shutting it all the way down, and then you’re starting it up again.”
mpuma@nypost.com