Toe injury hampers Little , will require surgery in offseason

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Rams defensive end Leonard Little has been hampered in recent weeks by a torn ligament in his left big toe, an injury that will require surgery eventually.

Little played sparingly in a 33-6 loss at Seattle on Sunday, a setback that dropped the Rams' record to 0-7. He has one sack this season after getting 13 last year and didn't practice at all last week.

"He's going to have to have surgery on it," defensive coordinator Jim Haslett said. "Whether it's soon or at the end of the year, it depends on how well it holds up."

Haslett said Little likely would practice sparingly, if at all, this week. He's having trouble pushing off on the rush.

"I don't know the whole ramifications of a toe, but he's not real effective out there," Haslett said. "We tried to give him as much rest as he could get.

"To be honest with you, he just played OK."

Center Brett Romberg was all but ruled out for Sunday's game against the Browns after spraining his right ankle. Romberg started that game with a sprained left ankle.

"I would say that's leaving him fairly questionable for at least the next game," coach Scott Linehan said.

Dante Hall, a return man and wide receiver, was ruled out for a third straight game with a high left ankle sprain. Linehan said Hall had an "outside chance" of returning after the Rays' bye week following Sunday's game.

"I just think it was a real serious high ankle sprain," Linehan said. "He tested it a little bit today and it's not ready."

-- AP