Terry Francona Reveals Battle With Staph Infection In Toe, Had Part Of Bone Removed

Awful offseason for Terry Francona -- the Cleveland skipper just revealed he was recently treated for a bad staph infection ... and had to get part of a bone in his foot removed in the process.

The 61-year-old broke down his health struggles with reporters from Spring Training on Friday ... saying he's currently in a walking boot and using crutches after having cement put in his foot.

Francona says he was initially treated for gout back in November ... but the pain continued for months. When he got checked out at the Cleveland Clinic, docs discovered the staph infection in his toe.

Tito says he spent 10 days in the hospital while battling the infection ... and will now start the season with his foot in a boot.

This is not Francona's first fight with staph -- he dealt with life-threatening infections in both his knees in 2002 ... which required knee replacements.

Tito also previously had his right hip replaced following the 2016 World Series ... as well as a surgery to fix an irregular heartbeat.

So yeah, the dude's had some super serious health scares.

Francona most recently had a mountain of health issues last year -- from a gastrointestinal procedure to blood clots and a stint in the ICU -- which kept him away from the team for the majority of the season.

In fact, Tito even admitted he contemplated walking away from the game for good to focus on getting better.