FORT MYERS, Fla. -- All you have to do is look at a calendar to realize that the chances of Red Sox ace Curt Schilling being ready to take the mound for Opening Night at Yankee Stadium are decreasing. The right-hander has thrown off the mound several times, but hasn't yet faced hitters in batting practice.

Compounding matters slightly, Schilling was sidelined by the flu on Tuesday and told not to come to the ballpark.

"He hasn't thrown to hitters yet, so that's the next step before he gets into a game," said Sox manager Terry Francona. "[The flu] doesn't really affect his arm, but it doesn't help the fact that it's going to push him back a couple of days."

Though Schilling's right ankle has responded as well as can be expected coming off a comprehensive Nov. 9, 2004, surgery, the Red Sox don't see the point in rushing him simply so he can take the ball for a marquee matchup with Randy Johnson at Yankee Stadium.

"I think far more important than whether he'll be ready Opening Night or not is the fact that it appears he'll be fully healthy and ready to go sometime around then, whether it's April 3 or April 13 or April 11 or April 9," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said. "What's important to me is that he comes back healthy and has the ability to go pitch for seven months. He's making steady progress toward that end. Again, April 3 is not that significant a date to me or the organization."

"I think he's healed very well," said Francona. "I think the things he's struggling with now are almost mechanical and stride length and maybe some confidence in striding, things like that, getting his arm speed back. It makes me feel good, because if he's healthy, he's going to figure it out. He's too good. These are some things he's battling that he's not used to battling in Spring Training."

If Schilling makes it back in time, fine. But if not, Francona isn't worried about it.

"I don't think he's supposed to be ready," said Francona. "I just don't think anybody ever eliminated it because of how he does his things. It's not going to be a shock if he's not ready. Again, he's not supposed to be. But it wouldn't be a shock if he was ready. Besides the fact that he's our best pitcher, you need to show some patience. We'd rather have him make 32 starts at full strength than 35 and limp around, that doesn't make sense. You need guys like him to win, but we should be good enough where we can weather the storm."

The Sox have plenty of veteran options available to open the season if Schilling can't, with 41-year-old left-hander David Wells seeming to be the most logical candidate. A big-game pitcher throughout his career, taking the ball in a primetime matchup at Yankee Stadium obviously wouldn't faze Wells.

In some ways, that storyline would be just as intriguing as Schilling taking the ball, considering that Wells was a lightning rod during his years in New York.

"If he's not ready, I'm willing to take the ball," Wells said earlier in camp. "You've got two gamers. You've got two guys that want the ball. There's not going to be any conflict one way or another. I know Curt a little bit. He's a great guy. He's a competitor, and so am I. We just got feed off one another and set the tone for this pitching staff."

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The Boomer will make his first start of Spring Training on Saturday against the Devil Rays.

Francona doesn't feel the need at this point to publicize a Plan B if Schilling isn't ready, but rest assured that contingency plans are being mapped out.

"I think I know how we feel about it," Francona said. "I think [pitching coach Dave Wallace] knows how we feel about it. Wells hasn't even made a start yet, so rather than get too far ahead of ourselves ... it'll line up pretty well."

As a team, the Red Sox aren't preoccupied with Schilling's availability for Opening Night.

"We have a 162-game schedule," said Sox first baseman Kevin Millar. "If we get to October, we want a healthy Curt Schilling. He's proven to be one of the best, if not the best, postseason pitcher."