TORONTO –– Sweat was dripping from his forehead and his limp wasn’t as noticeable after Tim Wakefield completed a normal side session Tuesday afternoon at Rogers Centre.

The veteran knuckleballer has been on the disabled list since the All-Star break with a lower-back injury and a calf strain and hopes he can return to the rotation sooner rather than later. After his session with catcher Victor Martinez, Wakefield ran some sprints in the outfield and ran on the treadmill, too.

“Wake did good today,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “He threw his side. We’ll sit down tomorrow with the medical people and evaluate the best way we can how to go forward. I think there’s a pretty good chance he’ll throw Friday in Pawtucket. But before we do that, we want to sit one more time and talk to Tom Gill, the trainers.

“This is a tough decision to make. I think we all think he can help us on the mound. But there are some other issues involved –– fielding your position, is it going to get weaker, is he going to hurt himself in another area? So we’ll do the best we can.”

“It’s a bad back, we all know what’s wrong with him,” added Francona. “At some point, he’s probably going to need surgery. If he has surgery this week, we’re probably not going to have him available next week. So, we’re trying to figure out what to do.”

Wakefield has already made one rehab start for the PawSox, on Saturday.

There was some thought Wakefield would be activated and possibly start on Thursday, which would push Jon Lester’s start back a day in order to face the Yankees. Even though Wakefield said he’s ready to pitch, he’ll have to wait a little while longer.

“Yes. I feel like I am [ready],” he said. “The biggest decision is the risk of hurting myself for the rest of the year. That’s [management’s] biggest question mark right now. ... We had a discussion with the doctors to make sure we’re doing the right thing by pitching.”

Wakefield will sit down with the club’s medical staff in the next couple of days to map out the remainder of the season. He may even see another back specialist in order to get another opinion.

“The strength is coming back, but it’s very slow. I ran on the treadmill today a lot better than I did a week ago, which is a good thing,” he said. “I threw the ball well. I had no doubts or hesitations. The next step is deciding whether I should go out there and try to pitch.”

Since his personal batterymate this season, George Kottaras, is also on the DL with a lower-back strain, Martinez has caught Wakefield’s last two side sessions. It’s the first time Martinez has caught a knuckleball.

“I thought it was O.K.,” said Martinez, who wore a bigger catcher’s mitt during the session. “I dropped some balls, obviously, but we’ll see. I’ll get another bullpen session to try it again. I’m going to do my best and see what happens.”

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Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia was not in the lineup Tuesday night as he went back to Boston in time to be with his wife, Kelli, for the birth of their first child.

Dylan Pedroia entered Red Sox Nation weighing 7 pounds, and is 20 1/2 inches long. Everyone is doing well.

“It’s good,” said teammate Kevin Youkilis. “It’s a great thing, especially with everything Kelli has been through and what Dustin’s been through mentally. Hopefully the baby is healthy and all that good stuff that comes with being a parent. It’s going to be a great thing for Dustin and hopefully he comes back with Dad’s strength and keeps hitting home runs.”

More than a month ago, Kelli Pedroia went into premature labor and was hospitalized. Dustin Pedroia skipped the All-Star game to be with his wife.

There’s no timetable for Pedroia’s return to the team.

Manager Terry Francona told Pedroia to take his time and enjoy his family. Francona missed the birth of one of his children during his playing days because he was on the road, and has said that he still regrets it.

“I told him that his first responsibility is Kelli and that child. And then when he’s able to play for us, we’ll welcome him back,” Francona said.

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Youkilis returned to the lineup Tuesday night after serving his five-game suspension for helping start a bench-clearing scrum last week at Fenway Park.

During his hiatus, Youkilis worked in the cage and took ground balls to stay sharp. The Red Sox went 2-3 without him.

“It’s tough watching your team play and not being involved. It’s a tough thing because you want to be involved somehow or some way. The guys played alright and were just one big hit away. I know a lot of people are saying I could have been the reason if I got to bat. ... We played well. We just didn’t play as sharp as we could.”

Youkilis said that while he regrets getting suspended, he believes he did the right thing by reacting to getting hit for the second time in as many games against the Tigers. He said he’s been hearing a lot of negativity surrounding the incident and just wants it to go away. He’s been hit a total of 10 times this season, including once in the head.

“When you wake up in the morning, or when you’re playing in a game and have shortness of breath after getting hit in the ribs and you still feel it to this day, I don’t think you can put on paper what that feels like,” he said. “Time and time again when you keep getting hit in the ribs, this is your well-being in life, and it comes down to I have a family and this is my job. At some point it has to end. As hitters there’s nothing we can do about it. We’ll sit in the box and we’ll get thrown at. There’s nothing a hitter can do. We can try to hit that slider off the guy’s rib cage, but they have the power to throw at people. It’s one of those things that have been going on in baseball for years.”

“Until you know that feeling of getting hit with a 96 miles-per-hour fastball in the rib cage over and over again, it’s not a good feeling in life,” said Youkilis.

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Red Sox manager Terry Francona originally penciled Jason Varitek into Tuesday’s lineup, but removed the catcher due to a stiff neck.

Victor Martinez was Josh Beckett’s batterymate, with Kevin Youkilis playing first and Mike Lowell at third.

After the Sox held their normal pitchers and catchers meeting prior to the first game of a series, Varitek was sporting what looked like a heating pad on his neck. He told the traveling contingent of beat writers that he didn’t have time to talk about the injury.

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The Red Sox were without their pitching coach last night, and possibly for the remainder of the series against the Blue Jays.

John Farrell returned home to Cleveland to be with his family and attend to a personal matter. Bullpen coach Gary Tuck will replace Farrell for the time being.

jmcdonal@projo.com