Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia (AP)

Red Sox GM Theo Epstein and manager Terry Francona suggested that they envision second baseman Dustin Pedroia — who had a screw put in his foot in September to help heal a broken left foot — being able to make a full recovery for the coming season. Pedroia recently told WEEI.com that he would modify some of his activities in order to reduce the strain on his foot, and he also admitted that he still sometimes has discomfort in the appendage, prompting some anxiety about his health going forward.

But Epstein said that while Pedroia will be paced in his return, his recovery is proceeding well, and he is not expected to be restricted for the season. The discomfort Pedroia encountered, Epstein said, was unrelated to the surgery.

“He went through a period where he was having some pain in a slightly different part of his foot, and doctors determined it was basically a result of having the foot immobile for so long. That was reassuring,” said Epstein. “It didn’t have anything to do with the fracture or the surgery. He’s healing really well, working out. He’s not wearing cleats yet, but we’re going to be smart about it. We don’t expect him to be limited by the time the season starts.”

Francona suggested that he has checked in frequently with the second baseman, and acknowledged that Pedroia has experienced emotional ups and downs during the recovery process. Even so, the manager is confident that the three-time All-Star will be in good shape entering the 2011 season.

“Like anybody that’s had a screw put in, you have some days where you’re like so thankful. You feel those little milestones or breakthroughs, and then, you have a couple days where you get frustrated,” said Francona. “But I think from talking to him and the people that are running his rehab that he’s going to come through this with flying colors. Saying that, the first day we’re down there, we do the 300-yard shuttle. We might not let him do that. We might. But he had a screw put in his foot. We’re going to try to take care of our guys. We’ll check with him every day, but I think he’s going to be OK.”

The 27-year-old Pedroia hit .288 with a .367 OBP, .493 slugging mark, .860 OPS, 12 homers and nine steals in 75 games before fracturing his foot by fouling a ball off of it in San Francisco in late-June.