Paul Blackburn making emotional Mets return after ‘real’ chance he wouldn’t pitch again

Paul Blackburn hasn’t appeared in a regular-season major league game since he was knocked around by the Padres in an Aug. 23 start last season and left that game after being hit by a line drive in his right hand.

He’s set to return to a major league mound Monday when the Mets open a series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.

Since that last start versus San Diego, the 31-year-old has dealt with back discomfort that landed him on the injured list following a rehab outing in September, which led to the unexpected discovery of a spinal fluid leak in his back.

An array of tests and medical opinions followed, with Blackburn saying he saw specialists who told him in order to fix the situation, they would need to insert a pin or a hinge in his spine — which would also likely end his playing career.

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But he ended up having bone spurs shaved around a capsule in the spine in the area that was punctured.

The October procedure made it possible for him to return.

“People I went to said they’d never seen this in a baseball player and they didn’t know how I’d come back from it,” Blackburn said Saturday before the Mets defeated the Rockies, 8-2, at Citi Field. “I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to pitch again. That [thought] was there. That was real. So when I went through the rehab process, I tried to be as positive as I could and focus on the day.”

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The plan worked well enough that Blackburn was able to resume throwing in the offseason and arrived to spring training feeling good.

He said he began to feel like himself while throwing “probably in mid-January.

For a couple of months after the surgery, there were times I would ache and it would be uncomfortable.”

Blackburn said he now has more movement in his back and “feels normal.”

His return was delayed in the spring by right knee inflammation, but he’s since made seven minor league rehab starts, including the last two at Triple-A Syracuse, where he pitched well.

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“There’s nothing lingering,’’ Blackburn said.

For a pitcher who’s entering his ninth major league season, Blackburn said there may be more emotion attached to this start than his usual first start of the year.

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“I’m definitely excited,’’ said Blackburn, who arrived in a trade from the A’s last July in exchange for minor league right-hander Kade Morris.

“It feels like it’s been a long time coming. When you make your first start of the year in the big leagues, it brings a lot with it. There’s a different sense of adrenaline, anxiety, nerves, all of it.”

And that’s especially true now, when Blackburn said he was aware it might not happen again.

“It’s been a long time coming,’’ Blackburn said.

Blackburn’s return comes with the Mets expanding to a six-man rotation at least one time through the rotation, as they are in the middle of a stretch of playing 10 games without a day off.

President of baseball operations David Stearns said Friday the team would likely fluctuate between a five- and six-man rotation for the foreseeable future, depending on the schedule and the needs of individual pitchers.

For now, though, Blackburn has a spot.