CHICAGO — Kyle Tucker could be back in the Cubs lineup before the MLB regular season ends.

Cubs manager Craig Counsell said on Wednesday that the slugger could be in the mix to play during the final series of the year against the Cardinals, meaning he could have some plate appearances before the NL Wild Card series begins.

“I think our goal right now, and I talked to Kyle today about it, is to be in the lineup on Friday,” Counsell said before Wednesday’s game. “I think we’re trending towards that. I don’t have a report on today, but in talking to him before the day started and while the day was going on inside, we were on the same page with that.”

Tucker has been out since Sept. 2 with a left calf strain and landed on the 10-day injured list on Sept. 6. The injury has lingered and, with the playoffs nearing, Tucker and the Cubs decided for him to leave the team during their road trip last week and head to Tampa to work with physical therapist Jeremy Maddox, whom he had worked with in the past.

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He ran for the first time in over a week in Tampa on Monday, then ran at Wrigley Field — including on the bases a bit — on Tuesday. His potential return on Friday does not mean he’s 100%, but the Cubs are running out of time to have him take at-bats and play in games before the postseason starts.

“I don’t think the symptoms are gonna be gone, but I think he’s in a place where he agrees that we’ve gotta go,” Counsell said. “We’ve gotta see what it feels like to play. I think maybe the games can help him here and give him some confidence in a certain situation.

“We’ll probably put a governor on it. I will encourage him to not go all out when you don’t have to. And to keep it 80-90% but that’s kinda where we’re at.”

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Tucker’s injury came at a time when it seemed like he was just returning to form at the plate. He homered in the last game before he exited, and was hitting .400 with a 1.289 OPS and four home runs over his previous 11 games.

When he’s healthy, he is the type of bat that can carry an offense and change the lineup. If he can cope with the injury in the weekend series, then that provides a boost to the Cubs’ lineup in the three-game wild-card series.

Here are some other injury updates:

Owen Caissie is still experiencing concussion symptoms and “is not progressing, unfortunately … we do activity until symptoms start, and we’ve been able to increase activity, but he is still experiencing symptoms during activity. So when you feel the symptoms and you stop, you try to get a little better with that every day,” Counsell said.Miguel Amaya is at the Cubs’ complex in Mesa, Ariz., as he tries to return from a left ankle sprain. The minor-league season ended on Sunday, so that’s why Amaya is in Arizona. He’ll join the team in Chicago this weekend, where the Cubs will determine his potential availability for the postseason.