Boston, MA (My Sportsbook) - Boston Red Sox ace Curt Schilling will not start Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees, if it goes that far, because of his ankle injury.

The Red Sox lost the first two games of the best-of-seven series in New York and will host Game 3 of the set on Friday.

If the series reaches a fifth game on Sunday in Boston, Red Sox manager Terry Francona said Derek Lowe would likely get the starting nod.

Schilling has been battling a right ankle problem for most of the season and aggravated the injury during Game 1 of the American League Division Series against Anaheim last week. He then struggled in the opener of the ALCS on Tuesday when the Yankees battered him for six runs on six hits over just three innings of a 10-7 loss.

"He's just a little too sore to go," Francona said at a news conference on Thursday. "As far as Sunday goes, he's not our starter."

On Wednesday, the Red Sox said that if Schilling could not make the Game 5 start, they would shut the righthander down for the rest of the season. But Francona stressed on Thursday that the club will not make that decision yet and will evaluate Schilling further, as long as the Red Sox keep playing.

After losing Tuesday's opener, the Red Sox dropped a 3-1 decision at Yankee Stadium in Game 2 on Thursday despite a strong outing from Pedro Martinez.

Boston will send righthander Bronson Arroyo to the mound on Friday for Game 3, while knuckleballer Tim Wakefield is scheduled to start Game 4.

The Red Sox said on Wednesday that Schilling will eventually undergo surgery after the playoffs and will need about three months to recover.

According to Boston team physician Dr. Bill Morgan, "the tendon is snapping over the bone" and the sheath that is covering the tendon is torn.

Morgan also commented that if the injury occurred during the regular season, Schilling would have been placed on the disabled list.

The 37-year-old Schilling pitched with a brace during Tuesday night's game and had a painkilling shot in the ankle. It still appeared, though, that he had trouble pushing off the rubber with his right leg and suffered through the shortest playoff outing of his career.

Schilling was 21-6 with a 3.26 earned run average in his first season with the Red Sox. He is 1-1 with a 7.45 ERA in two playoff starts.