When Tony Gwynn took an Al Leiter fastball on the elbow in the Padres’ season-opener Monday, the team expected him to be out for a week at best, or make a trip to the DL at worst. But after X-rays came back negative yesterday, Gwynn held out hope that he could be back on the field for tonight’s 7:10 p.m. game at Shea.

If the tip of the radius had shown a hairline fracture, as a Mets doctor originally feared on Monday, Gwynn would have been out for most or all of April.

“I’ll [beg] to the manager,” Gwynn said. “I’d guess if the X-rays are negative, and I get range of motion back, there’s an outside chance for [tonight]. You just hope everything’s fine and you go on about your business.”

After Gwynn got hit Monday, assistant trainer Jim Daniel had predicted Gwynn would miss “minimum, five to seven days,” and a Met doctor offered the grim worst-case scenario. But another set of X-rays at Shea yesterday turned up negative and Padres team doctor Jan Fronek saw no break.