DETROIT - Boston Red Sox starter Curt Schilling played long toss before Thursday's game against the Detroit Tigers, continuing his rehabilitation from a shoulder injury.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona said that the session went well, although progress hasn't been as quick as the 41-year-old pitcher would like.

He wants to feel like he's 24 again, and I don't know how likely that's ever going to be," Francona said. "He did what we wanted him to do, and now we'll get him back on his exercise program and have him do it again on Saturday."

Schilling threw 25 balls from 60 feet away on Tuesday, testing the ailing right shoulder for the first time. He repeated the exercise Thursday before the Red Sox completed a four-game series in Detroit.

Schilling preferred to have surgery on the shoulder, but after being examined by three doctors, he agreed to rest and rehabilitation. Schilling has a tendon injury and possibly a damaged rotator cuff.

Schilling went 9-8 in 24 starts for the Red Sox last season despite missing six weeks with a shoulder problem. He won three games in the postseason, including Game 2 of the World Series.

He signed an $8 million, one-year contract with Boston in November, but announced in February that he would miss significant time because of the shoulder problem.