PHOENIX – The question hadn’t even fully tumbled out of a reporter’s mouth when Art Howe interrupted.

Was there a concern that a returning Cliff Floyd could be perceived as –

“A savior?” Howe asked, chuckling. “I hope not. He’s only had a few games down there, but he’s chomping at the bit to get back.”

Floyd, who was set to return last night from a strained right quad, may not be a savior, but he’s certainly a heck of a hitter. And while the 15-19 Mets cannot reasonably expect Floyd to come in and save their teetering season, they can expect the slugging leftfielder to provide an enormous boost with his return to the lineup.

Floyd has not played since April 11, and his return couldn’t come at a better time. Not with Brandon Webb, Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens on the immediate pitching horizon.

“He wants to help us,” Howe said.

It was only the sixth game of the year when Floyd got hurt. While legging out an infield hit against the Expos in San Juan, Floyd pulled up lame a few feet before the bag, clutching his quad.

What followed was even worse. Floyd hunched over, took off his helmet and swatted it. Then he had to be helped off the field. Later he would say of the injury, “Mentally, it’s just disgusting.”

The Mets felt the same way. Sure, it was early, but Floyd was already off to a strong start, hitting .350 (7-for-20) with a .417 on-base percentage in his five-plus games. Floyd also had a homer, two doubles and three RBIs.

But even more than the stats was what Floyd provided in the middle of the order. As the only lefty power bat, Floyd was a crucial ingredient to the Mets’ lineup.

His return should help the whole offense and particularly Mike Piazza. Before April 11, Piazza was hitting .364 and had hit three homers in five games. Since then, his average has slid to .280, and he has added only three homers in 28 games.

One concern about Floyd, however, is how rusty he may be. He has not played in a major league game in over a month, and his rehab assignment consisted of only one minor league game. On Tuesday, Floyd played nine innings for St. Lucie, going 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored. The Mets, though, were particularly impressed when Floyd scored from first base on a double.

“We could have had him play another game but he has had a lot of swings and he was feeling good,” GM Jim Duquette said. “The thought was to get him up here now and see what he could do.”

Fortunately for the Mets, they received stellar play from Floyd’s backups, Shane Spencer and Eric Valent. Spencer is hitting .341, while Valent is at .315. With Floyd back, the playing time for those two, as well as Karim Garcia, will certainly be affected.

Still, the Mets prefer to look at it as less of a headache and more as they will have prime options in rightfield and plenty of depth on the bench.

“We can always pick and choose who the other outfielder is going to be,” Howe said.