Dempsey injured, leaving World Cup availability in doubt

Clint Dempsey faces a lengthy layoff after injuring his knee during Fulham's 2-0 loss at Blackburn on Sunday in a possible blow to American preparations for the World Cup.

The U.S. forward limped off after falling in the 62nd minute of the Premier League game. It wasn't immediately clear which knee he injured.

"Clint will be scanned tomorrow, but we feel it might be a posterior cruciate knee ligament, which would be very bad for us and he would be out for a while," Fulham manager Roy Hodgson said. "It's a concern up front because Clint Dempsey is very useful for us."

And for the U.S., which begins its World Cup campaign in South Africa against England on June 12, then meets Slovenia six days later and closes the group stage against Algeria on June 23.

"The doctors are pretty good these days - I would like to see them to be wrong more often," Hodgson said. "Often their initial diagnosis appears to be the correct one when the scan is made."

Dempsey's injury is a more immediate major blow for Fulham with forward Bobby Zamora not set to return until March as he recovers from a shoulder injury.

Dempsey had produced Fulham's best effort in the first half at Blackburn when his overhead kick hit the crossbar.