Clint Dempsey faces a long layoff after injuring a knee during Fulham's 2-0 loss at Blackburn yesterday at London, the latest blow to American preparations for the World Cup.

The U.S. forward sat on the field in the 61st minute of the Premier League game after falling, then pointed at his right knee before a trainer came out and examined him. Dempsey limped off and was replaced.

"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 United States, which begins its World Cup campaign in South Africa against England on June 12.

U.S. team spokesman Michael Kammarman said the U.S. Soccer Federation training staff had been in contact with Dempsey, and the severity of the injury will not been known until after an MRI exam.

The U.S. team is already likely to be without forward Charlie Davies in South Africa because of injuries sustained in a car crash last October, and defender Oguchi Onyewu is sidelined until spring following knee surgery.

CYCLING

ARMSTRONG FINISHES 62ND AMONG 133

Greg Henderson of New Zealand has won the prelude to the Tour Down Under at Adelaide, Australia, while seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was in a five-man pack near the end of the race.

Armstrong and Oscar Pereiro, also a former Tour de France winner, were part of the pack that led for nine laps and were caught with two laps left in the 30-lap, 31-mile race.

Henderson won in 1 hour, 4 minutes, 33 seconds. Armstrong fell back to finish 62nd among 133 riders, eight seconds off the pace.

The six-day Tour Down Under starts tomorrow. Armstrong used last year's race to start his comeback after nearly three years in retirement.

ELSEWHERE

Boxing: Amir Khan has signed with Golden Boy Promotions, which will attempt to raise the English 140-pound champion's American profile.

Khan (22-1, 16 KOs) won a silver medal at the Athens Olympics before turning pro with British promoter Frank Warren. Khan joined fellow British stars David Haye and Ricky Hatton in working with Oscar De La Hoya's promotions company.

Khan defeated Marco Antonio Barrera last March before winning the WBA light welterweight title in July with a unanimous decision over Andreas Kotelnik. He defended his title in December, knocking out Dmitriy Salita in the first round.

Running: Former Olympic bronze medalist Deena Kastor (1 hour, 9 minutes and 43 seconds) won the women's half-marathon and Ethiopian Terefe Yea (2:12:41) took the men's marathon in the Arizona Rock n' Roll races yesterday at Phoenix.

Canadian Simon Bairu (1:02:47) also upset American record holder Ryan Hall in the men's half-marathon, and Teyba Naser (2:30.39), a 23-year-old Ethiopian, was the women's marathon winner.

• Kenya's Dennis Ndiso has won the Mumbai Marathon in New Delhi, finishing in 2 hours, 12 minutes, 34 seconds in humid conditions.

Siraj Gena of Ethiopia was second in 2:13:58.

Bizunesh Mohammed won the women's race in 2:31:09. Haile Kekebush finished second.