On the brink of clinching the top seed in the Western Conference, Chivas USA coach Preki was handed some bad news when he learned that the club could be without the services of veteran forward Ante Razov for the entirety of the playoffs.

Razov, the second-leading scorer in MLS history, sustained the injury to his left knee while clearing away a Dallas free kick in the 70th minute of Thursday's 0-0 draw in Texas. As the Chivas head coach had already used his final substitution, Razov remained on the field, but visibly favored the injury over the game's final 20 minutes.

"I turned and I heard a pop," recalled Razov, who has 11 goals and eight assists this season. "You feel some things sometimes and, I don't know, it just wasn't good. I wasn't able to move around on the field. I'm hoping for the best, but I don't think I've been injured before like this one."

Calling it a sprain, team officials were awaiting the results of a Friday MRI scan before commenting further, but the worst case scenario has Razov out four-to-six weeks - with MLS Cup a hair over a month away, it is likely that Razov has seen his last action in 2007.

"Unfortunately, we lost him, but that's life," said coach Preki following the game. "We've got to move on and, hopefully, he gets better fast."

Chivas has two games left in their regular season, both at home. A win without Razov against the Colorado Rapids on Sunday would give them the Western Conference title and could give them an edge in the race for the Supporter's Shield, depending on how DC United fares against the visiting Chicago Fire.