NEW YORK (AFP) — Japanese pitcher Kodai Senga, who has not played since 26 July due to a calf injury, was named Friday as the New York Mets playoff starter on Saturday against Philadelphia.

The 31-year-old right-hander, a five-time Japan Series champion for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, joined Major League Baseball last season and was the Mets’ top hurler, going 12-7 with 202 strikeouts and a 2.98 earned-run average.

This year, Senga had a strained right shoulder and made his debut in late July against Atlanta, striking out nine and allowing two runs over 5 1/3 innings before leaving the game with a right calf strain that has sidelined him since.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said on 22 September that Senga was done for the season, but reversed that decision on Friday.

Just how long Senga might be able to pitch against the Phillies in game one of the best-of-five National League division series was uncertain.

“We’ll see. We’ll let it play out,” Mendoza said.

“He has been throwing, facing hitters. We have a plan. We’re going to go out there, watch him closely and go from there, but he’s ready to go.”

Mendoza said Senga was thrilled at the prospect of facing the Phillies.

“He’s excited,” Mendoza said.

“When we talked to him, he was ready to go. If anybody knows himself, it’s Kodai Senga. We’ve been through the whole year with him. When he’s not feeling right, he always lets us know that.”