Brady injury blow

FOXBOROUGH // Tom Brady may miss the rest of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. The New England Patriots quarterback limped off the field after he was hit on a knee midway through the first quarter in his side's 17-10 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. The reigning Most Valuable Player was hit in the back of his left knee by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard and crumpled to the turf, clutching the knee in the opening quarter.

Brady was attended to by the team officials before hobbling off the field and heading directly to the locker room. He finished seven-of-11 for 76 yards. Matt Cassel replaced him on the Patriots' next possession. The Patriots coach Bill Belichick said after the game that he did have any update and that tests were still being made on Brady. Randy Moss, Brady's favourite target, called the hit a "dirty" play.

"I didn't really see anything because I was running down the field. It looked dirty to me," Moss said. "I have never been a dirty player. I honestly don't know how to play dirty. I just play the game. "Any time you see something like that that looks foul and looks dirty it opens your eyes. To me personally, it looked dirty." Pollard was remorseful after the game. "Things happen but I can't do anything but send my prayers out to him," he said.

"He's a competitor and tough guy," the Chiefs safety said. "As soon as I heard him scream, I knew something was wrong. That's something you don't want to see happen to another competitor." A two-time Super Bowl MVP, Brady set an NFL record by throwing 50 touchdown passes and leading New England to a perfect 16-0 regular season that ended with a crushing loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.

Brady did not take a snap this pre-season due to an injured foot, but he was not listed on the injury report for Sunday's game - the first time he has not been on it since the 2005 season. Entering the season, Brady had started 128 straight regular-season contests. That was the third-longest streak in history behind Brett Favre and Peyton Manning. An injury to Drew Bledsoe in week three in 2001 put Brady in the line-up and he has not missed a game since. He led New England to their Super Bowl championship that season.

* PA Sport