BOSTON — After spending most of last week on bed rest, per doctor’s orders, Anthony Rizzo is inching closer to a return to the Yankees lineup while hoping the week off helps his recurring back issues in the long run.

Since he last played on Aug. 31, Rizzo received an epidural to treat his back, which led to a stint on the injured list because of headaches that stemmed from the injection. 

But after getting a blood patch late last week that instantly relieved the headaches, Rizzo is beginning to ramp up with an eye on returning this weekend for a series in Milwaukee or next week for a home series against the Pirates.

“I think the silver lining is that I got a week to let the medicine really fully kick in and do its job,” Rizzo said before the Yankees’ 7-6, 10-inning win over the Red Sox. “I’ve never gotten an epidural, so we’ll see. I’ll let you know in a few weeks [how it works]. But I think with our program, anytime I give my back time off [it helps] and I give it time off with an injection, hopefully this is behind [me].”

Rizzo started to swing off a tee, ran inside and threw on the field Tuesday morning at Yankee Stadium before traveling to Boston to rejoin the Yankees.

Manager Aaron Boone said Rizzo is expected to run and hit in the cage on Wednesday, which is much more than he was allowed to do last week.

“The terminology sounds a lot scarier than what it was,” Rizzo said. “It was just weird because you didn’t know what was going on. Every time you stand up, you get a massive headache. So just laying down for a week straight on basically bed rest was not fun.”

Whenever Rizzo returns, it would be a welcome addition for a Yankees lineup that has missed his left-handed at-bat while also dealing with injuries to DJ LeMahieu, Andrew Benintendi and Matt Carpenter.

“The fact that I think we have the [back] problem behind us and he feels really good physically and we’re going to hopefully get that healthy version back is huge,” Boone said.

Domingo German has been an effective rotation replacement for Luis Severino, but with Severino set to come back this month from a strained lat — and another two off days coming up after the Yankees had Monday off — German will pitch out of the bullpen for now.

“He will be [in the pen] moving forward,” said Boone, saying it would at least stay that way for the “short term.”

Once Severino is healthy, the Yankees will have Gerrit Cole, Frankie Montas, Nestor Cortes and Jameson Taillon in the rotation, along with Severino. None of them has as much experience pitching in relief as German does.

Aroldis Chapman pitched a scoreless inning in a rehab outing Tuesday with Double-A Somerset. … Boone said Zack Britton — coming off UCL surgery — will need at least “several” more outings. … Tyler Wade was with the Yankees in Boston on the taxi squad, brought up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Jasson Dominguez took a step closer to The Bronx on Tuesday, when the Yankees No. 2 prospect was promoted to Double-A Somerset from High-A Hudson Valley. He went hitless in his debut Tuesday night.

The move came after the 19-year-old center fielder, who opened the season at Low-A Tampa, played just 40 games with Hudson Valley before the Low-A season came to an end over the weekend. Somerset plays through Sunday, with the postseason to follow.

The organization’s top prospect, shortstop Anthony Volpe, was recently moved up to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

The switch-hitting Dominguez was the top international signing in 2019, when he agreed to a $5.1 million deal with the Yankees, drawing comparisons to Mike Trout, Mickey Mantle and Bo Jackson.

His first full season in pro ball didn’t come until last year, because of the COVID-related cancellation of the 2020 minor league season, and he slipped in some scouts’ eyes with Tampa.

But Dominguez has worked his way back into prominence and has been at his best recently, with five doubles, two triples and four homers and just a dozen strikeouts in his last 18 games.