Mets RHP Noah Syndergaard's Tommy John surgery went as expected on Thursday, the team said Friday.

While most elective surgeries have been paused due to the coronavirus pandemic, Syndergaard's -- which took place in Florida -- was detremined by doctors to be essential due to the impact on his career.

The common recovery time for pitchers from Tommy John surgery is 12-to-16 months, meaning Syndergaard will miss the entire 2020 season and potentially part of the 2021 season as well.

SNY's Andy Martino reported earlier this week that a "reasonable expectation" for when Syndergaard returns is Memorial Day of the 2021 season, which is his final season of arbitration before free agency.

On Tuesday, the Mets announced the details regarding Syndergaard's diagnosis.

"After experiencing discomfort in his elbow before Spring Training was suspended due to the pandemic, Noah and our health and performance department have been in constant contact," Brodie Van Wagenen said in a statement. "Based on the persistence of his symptoms, Noah underwent a physical examination and MRI that revealed the ligament tear. A second opinion from Dr. Neal ElAttrache confirmed the diagnosis and the recommendation for surgery. Noah is an incredibly hard worker and a tremendous talent. While this is unfortunate, we have no doubt that Noah will be able to return to full strength and continue to be an integral part of our Championship pursuits in the future."

Syndergaard had been expected to be the Mets' No. 2 starter behind Jacob deGrom.

The 27-year-old Syndergaard had a relatively down season in 2019 as he struggled to harness his slider, but said early on in spring training that he expected his slider of old to return in 2020. Now, that will have to wait.

As far as the Mets' starting rotation for 2020 is concerned, the likely scenario is that both Michael Wacha and Steven Matz will now join a rotation that is also expected to include deGrom, Marcus Stroman, and Rick Porcello.

Among the Mets' options in the minors should they need an additional starter this season is prospect David Peterson, who will likely open the year with Triple-A Syracuse.

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