NEW YORK -- Robinson Canó is headed back to the injured list with left quadriceps tightness.

The Mets placed Cano on the 10-day injured list prior to Sunday's game against the Rockies, and they purchased the contract of right-hander Tim Peterson from Triple-A Syracuse in a corresponding move.

Cano initially sustained the injury on May 22 against the Nationals and missed the next 12 games before returning on June 5 against the Giants. He aggravated the same injury while attempting to beat out a double-play ball in the third inning of that contest and was removed one inning later.

He had not played since Wednesday.

“We evaluated [him] in the last couple of days, and it just seems like to get him through a nine-inning game, it might take some rehab time. So we’re going to go that route,” manager Mickey Callaway said before Sunday’s game.

Cano had not been on a rehab assignment prior to returning from the injured list initially. He told reporters that he'll be starting one on Tuesday, though, at either Double-A Binghamton or Triple-A Syracuse.

“It just got to a point where we felt like this was the best thing for Robbie at this point. We need Robbie to be back and playing 100 percent and being the player he needs to be and we felt that this route was going to give us the best chance to accomplish that,” Callaway said.

Asked if Cano had come back too quickly from the injury initially, or if he should have been on a rehab assignment, Callaway indicated that the team had been confident in his initial return.

“He didn’t feel in-game speed like he wanted to. That’s something that you really can’t replicate even on a rehab assignment, because the game is so different,” Callaway said. “Once you put him in a Major League game, there’s always that risk, and we understand that.”

Cano is hitting .238 with a .650 OPS and three home runs over 46 games in his debut season with the Mets.