HOUSTON -- Wilmer Flores was down at home plate, blood gushing from his nose. In the fourth inning on Saturday night at Houston's Minute Maid Park, Flores fouled a pitch off his face. In an age where metrics like exit velocity and launch angles are popular, they all worked against him.

The pitch jumped off his bat straight up and back at and angle so extreme it crushed his face.

Mets' trainer Ray Ramirez sprinted from the dugout and Flores, who was in shock, asked him a question even he admits sounds more humorous than scary.

Is my nose still on my face?

"I didn't feel my nose," Flores said. "It was like, I didn't have a nose."

Flores was taken to the hospital where x-rays showed a broken nose, but no other facial fractures. There was plenty of blood in his nose that was making it hard for him to breathe, but other than that, the damage was minimal. His front teeth were also still intact, which was a relief since he assumed they had been knocked out.

Flores is still swollen and it's painful for him to laugh, but it's not as severe is it was initially thought to be. And while he will be examined by the Mets' doctors in New York on Tuesday, he's fully anticipating a return to the field before the end of the season.

Manager Terry Collins said he expects Flores to play some time next week and Flores said he's aiming for that as well. It's dependent on how long it will take for the swelling to go down.

"It's the discomfort of everything," Collins said. "It's the running, the jarring, and how comfortable can it be? So for a couple days I think we need to get to slowing down a little bit."

Fans are already protesting this decision, saying Flores shouldn't risk further injury in a month of meaningless games. But he's intent on playing again.

Collins, who has broken his nose seven times, said it could be worse.

"I played after a broken jaw where I had my jaw wired shut," Collins said. "Five days later, I played."

The Mets' 2017 battle with freak injuries will wage on with one month left.

Abbey Mastracco may be reached at amastracco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @abbeymastracco. Find NJ.com on Facebook.