By Kit Stier
Gannett News Service

Valuable and until now durable Jets cornerback Ray Mickens may have been lost for the season after the veteran tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Jets officials would not comment on the injury last night, but sources close to the football team confirmed that an MRI revealed Mickens to have the injury.

The ACL is a primary stabilizing ligament within the center of the knee joint that prevents hyperextension and excessive rotation of the joint. A complete tear of the ACL would require reconstructive surgery and could demand up to a year of rehabilitation.

Mickens, who hasn't missed a game in four years and who has lost only two games to injury since the Jets chose him in the third round of the 1996 draft, suffered the injury during a routine practice drill on Aug. 15.

Mickens had one earlier MRI taken on the knee, but the results were unclear because there was still too much swelling in the joint. Because the swelling had subsided another test was administered yesterday.

"This is a new experience for me," Mickens said on Monday. "I have to find a way through it. That's why God gives you a family, so you can get through these things."

The loss of Mickens is a severe one to the Jets, already thin in their defensive backfield. Mickens is the best nickel back on the team, and would likely have been a substitute if either starting corner David Barrett or Donnie Abraham went down.

As it stands now, the rookie Derrick Strait, a third-round draft pick out of Oklahoma this year will be the new nickel back. Rookie free agent Roderick Bryant will play in dime packages.

The loss of Mickens leaves the Jets with four active cornerbacks on their current roster. Andrew Davison is a corner who's on the practice squad.

Mickens has played in 126 games for the Jets, started 36 and was a starter in 14 games last year because Abraham was injured.

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