A painful loss for Revolution

Ralston suffers broken fibula

KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Losing a match is one thing, losing a vital player like Steve Ralston is another for the Revolution.

Last night, the Revolution lost a game, 1-0, to the Kansas City Wizards. But the worst news was that Ralston, the team's leading scorer (8 goals, 7 assists), broke his right fibula in the first half and is likely out for the season.

In the 12th minute, Wizards midfielder Herculez Gomez slid in to tackle Ralston just after the Revolution midfielder passed the ball. Ralston was tripped up, went down, came up limping, and was replaced with Gabriel Badilla.

"I don't know what happened," said Ralston. "I know I played the ball, my leg was planted, and I don't know if he kicked me or what happened. I won't say anything until I see it."

Ralston was taken to a nearby hospital and returned to the stadium on crutches. He expects to be out from 6-8 weeks, which means his season is likely over.

"He's the guy we want to be going forward and joining up with the forwards," said Revolution coach Steve Nicol. "The truth is, we don't have anybody else to play that [role] so when you lose him, it changes drastically what you're capable of."

Ralston's absence created a big void, Wizards defender Jimmy Conrad said.

"We noticed when Ralston went out, they really missed that presence," Conrad said. "He's got so much experience. He's the kind of guy that pulls the strings at midfield. He and [Shalrie Joseph] have a great understanding and when he went out, you could just kind of see a collective, 'Here we go,' from the whole team."

The Revolution (12-9-7, 43 points) had already clinched a playoff spot.

The Wizards (9-10-9, 36 points) remain in the hunt for a wild-card spot.

In the 61st minute, Wizards midfielder Jack Jewsbury sent a corner kick to the near post. Conrad's header appeared to be deflected by a Revolution player into the goal. It was the fifth headed goal of the season for Conrad and his sixth overall.

It was the second goal off a corner kick allowed by New England this season and the second in three games.

Revolution defender Jay Heaps said giving up the goal off a corner kick was disappointing.

"We work on set pieces every week, so it is something we're upset about," he said. "Overall, it was a good effort, but we didn't have the final pass, the final touch that we needed."

In the 75th minute, Revolution midfielder Mauricio Castro went down after a reckless tackle by Abe Thompson. Castro limped off the field and was replaced by Wells Thompson. Castro's status is not known.

The Revolution fell to 2-5-4 in MLS matches since Aug. 5 and wrap up the regular season at D.C. United Thursday and at home against the Wizards Oct. 25.

Brad Knighton, 23, is the Revolution's new backup goalkeeper, replacing Doug Warren, whose season came to an end last week when it was determined he could not return from an elbow injury. Knighton was on loan with the Portland Timbers of the USL-1 earlier this season and has been back with the Revolution since August. He has not played in an MLS match, but in three starts in reserve matches, he has a 0.40 goals-against average.

The Revolution were without forward Kenny Mansally and midfielder Sainey Nyassi, who were with The Gambia national team for its match against Senegal yesterday in World Cup qualifying. Neither saw action in the 1-1 tie. Both are expected back with the Revolution this week.

Monique Walker can be reached at mwalker@globe.com