By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox shortstop Stephen Drew suffered with a concussion on Thursday when he was hit in the helmet by a pitch, although it didn't become apparent until that evening when he had trouble focusing on the print of a book he was reading.

Drew has not played since because of lingering symptoms.

"Initially, I was fine. The trainers asked and I was coherent and everything else," he said today. "It was when I got home and kind of noticed the symptoms coming on."

Drew said he is in a "holding pattern" until he feels better. He still feels dizzy and light-headed at times.

"It's getting better. But you have to make sure these things go away before you get back out there," he said. "You don't want it to come back because they can come back and then it won't be good. For the most part it's getting better, slowly but surely. I'd like to get this going so I can get going [playing] again."

Drew said this is the first concussion he has suffered.

"You can't play around with it. It's your head," he said. "You go back out there and take a shot and you never know what happens."

Drew falls under MLB's concussion protocol, which mandates that he passes a test administered on line before he can play again. He is not sure when that will take place.

"I just know I'll come in every day and we have stuff to do," he said.