Francisco Lindor said he prayed Monday before receiving an X-ray of his lower back and was grateful his prayers were answered.

The Mets shortstop will not return to the lineup immediately, but he expects to play again this season after receiving a clean MRI result.

Lindor said his timeline for returning is 3 to 5 days, but if his back responds quickly, that time frame could be shortened by a day.

When the Mets arrived at Citi Field on Monday, there were still 13 games left on the schedule.

“The best case scenario would be to play the Nationals,” Lindor said of the three-game series that began Monday night. “But I don’t know how realistic that is. We’ll see how I react (on Tuesday) and if the coaches allow me to switch. I’ll force them to do it, but I respect their decision and the way they approach things.”

Lindor missed his first game of the season in Philadelphia on Saturday due to back pain.

He returned to the starting lineup a day later, but left the game in the bottom of the second inning after having trouble running to first base and fielding.

Lindor had been having back problems for more than a week, but he said he aggravated it Friday night while running between bases when he was taken out of the game after a double that overran second base.

Lindor left the game in the seventh inning.

Manager Carlos Mendoza said he feared the worst as Lindor prepared for his MRI scan.

“For Lindor to be out of the lineup (on Saturday) and then, even though he was in the lineup, to leave the game after one inning is pretty tough because I know how tough and tough that guy is,” Mendoza said.

Jose Iglesias started at shortstop on Monday, with Eddy Alvarez at second base.

Luisangel Acuna pitched most of his innings as shortstop over the weekend because Lindor was injured.

Lindor said an injection was considered to relieve his pain, but he opted for oral painkillers.

“I expect (the discomfort) to last the rest of the year, but it will be manageable,” Lindor said. “I think I’ll wake up (Tuesday) sore, but not as bad, and it will be like that the rest of the year.”

Lindor was asked if it was possible that his back had worsened because he tried to play on Sunday.

“I don’t think so, because I felt good, I felt good,” Lindor said. “And it wasn’t some freak accident where I felt like, ‘Oh, I hurt it again.’ It was just too tight for me, so I don’t think the situation (on Sunday) set me back, I just felt like I could keep playing and all of a sudden I didn’t feel comfortable enough to stay on the field.

“When I couldn’t do what I love to do, which is play good defense, I noticed something. I was a little shy on the ground balls.”

The Mets began the day tied with Atlanta for the NL’s third wild card, and Mendoza didn’t want his team to lose sight of the bigger picture without their MVP candidate.

“It’s going to be strange, but nobody is going to feel sorry for us and that’s the message we’re sending to the players,” Mendoza said. “People have to keep giving it their all – that’s what we’ve been doing all year. The good news is he’s coming back, but in the meantime we can’t just sit here and wait for him to come back. We have to take care of our business.”