Keith Hernandez to undergo back surgery and miss time in SNY booth

It looks like the Mets’ injury bug has infected the SNY broadcast booth as well.

Midway through the Mets’ 4-0 loss to the Athletics on Friday, Keith Hernandez revealed that he will be undergoing back surgery on Tuesday.

“Can’t happen soon enough,” Hernandez said during the WPIX broadcast. “I’ll be the first one under the knife, and I’ll feel better, hopefully.”

Hernandez, 72, added that he is hoping to return to the booth for the Mets’ home series against the Rockies, which starts on April 24.

“I’m shooting to come back during the Rockies series over the weekend home here,” he said.

He then joked with fellow commentators Gary Cohen and Ron Darling, with Hernandez saying that they don’t think he’s gonna make it out of surgery.

“I know you don’t think I’ll make it,” Hernandez said while the others can be heard laughing in the background.

“I hope you do, I’m rooting for you, Keith,” Cohen quickly interjected.

The broadcast then panned to a graphic titled “Get Well Soon Keith,” which showed a man lying on an island with a full-body cast.

This is not the first time that Hernandez has had back surgery, having repaired a ruptured disk back in 2019.

Ahead of this season, Hernandez signed a three-year deal to remain at SNY that reduced his workload from 110 games to 95.

Hernandez’s back troubles have already caused him to miss a few games this year, notably being absent from the Mets’ west-coast series against the Giants earlier this month, where the Amazin’s took three of four games from San Francisco.

During Tuesday’s 4-3 over the Diamondbacks, Hernandez said that he tried watching the Giants series back at home, but San Francisco played so terribly that he had to turn it off.

“I tried to watch the Giants series, Gare, but the Giants played so horribly that I had to turn it off,” Hernandez said.

“Todd [Zeile] and I were not compelling enough to keep your attention?” Cohen responded.

“Had nothing to do with you guys. It just was … the defense, I just was stunned,” Hernandez continued.

“When it was finally 6-0, I turned it off,” he added while mimicking turning off a television.

In the Mets’ loss Friday, starter Clay Holmes exited during the sixth inning of his with hamstring tightness.