PORT ST. LUCIE — The Mets remained optimistic Wednesday about Carlos Beltran’s ability to get over his latest knee injury, as does the right fielder himself.

“He said, ‘I know everyone is concerned, but I’m preparing myself for the regular season, not spring training,’ ” Terry Collins said. “He went in the cage and did stuff. He’s still throwing. It’s not like he’s gonna not do anything.”

Collins said he saw improvements in Beltran from Tuesday, when it was revealed he would miss 4-5 days due to tendinitis in his left knee.

“He showed me things [Wednesday] that he couldn’t do [Tuesday],” said Collins, who believes Beltran overdid things in his effort to be on the field as soon as possible. “I’m looking forward to early next week getting him back in there.”

Lucas Duda played right field in a 7-2 win over the Astros.