MONTREAL (AP) Two-time CFL MVP Mike Pringle will likely miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, leaving Lawrence Phillips as the Montreal Alouettes' primary running back.

Pringle torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee Friday in a victory over the Edmonton Eskimos.

Doctors are expected to decide "in the next day or two" whether to operate on the knee, Montreal head coach Don Matthews said.

Pringle, a six-time CFL all-star, lost his starting job to Phillips in training camp.

A former NFL first-round pick, Phillips is in his first season in the CFL, trying to rebuild his football career.

Phillips has had a succession of minor injuries this season, which gave Pringle more playing time. Phillips injured an ankle on Friday night, but is expected to start on Thursday in Ottawa.

The sixth pick in the 1996 NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams, Phillips was released in his second season after being arrested three times in 19 months and spending 23 days in jail for violating his probation after a drunken-driving arrest in California.

He also had brief stints with Miami and San Francisco and played for Barcelona in NFL Europe. Last year, he signed with the Florida Bobcats of the Arena League but left camp soon afterward.

Pringle, who has rushed for 13,907 yards in 11 seasons, is chasing the CFL career rushing record of 16,116, held by George Reed of Saskatchewan.

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