[MLS INJURY REPORT] D.C. United suffered a devastating blow on Thursday when it was confirmed captain Dwayne De Rosario, the 2011 MLS MVP, was lost for the rest of the 2012 season with a knee injury suffered early in Tuesday's Panama-Canada World Cup 2014 qualifier at Panama City's Estadio Rommel Fernandez.

De Rosario will be sidelined 10-12 weeks after an MRI on Thursday confirmed he had suffered a grade III MCL sprain.

“DeRo is our captain, a great player and impossible to replace,” D.C. head coach Ben Olsen said in a statement. “With that said, we have talented players who will step up in his absence and this injury will not be an excuse to fall short of goals we set for ourselves as a team at the beginning of the season.”

De Rosario won the 2011 MLS MVP award with D.C. United after coming over from the New York Red Bulls.

In 44 games over the two seasons, De Rosario has 20 goals and 19 assists.

D.C. United lies in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with seven games to play in the regular season.

Canada fell to Panama, 2-0, and dropped to third place in Group C of their Concacaf qualifying group with two games to play next month.