ALLEN PARK — OT Jason Fox ended his senior season in the operating room instead of a bowl game. But he timed it that way on purpose so he would be ready to start his NFL career healthy.

The Lions drafted Fox, who played at Miami, in the fourth round on Saturday.

He will be absolutely fine to start the season. He said he’s good to go now.

“I feel like I’m really far along in the process, I’m probably right at 100 percent, close to 100 percent,’’ Fox said in a conference call.

The Lions will proceed with caution when it comes to the rookie minicamp which starts Friday. Fox is coming off surgery to repair a patella tendon, an injury that he played with his senior season.

“We’ll just see how he is. He told me that he felt really good and he’s close to 100 percent, but he’s all excited. We want to make sure we have him in the fall, not in the spring. Our trainers will look at him and determine what he can and can’t do,’’ offensive line coach George Yarno said.

Yarno sees Fox as a developmental player who they will play on both sides, at least initially.