Raiders Lose Long for 6 Weeks : Football: Star defensive end says Seattle’s bad artificial turf caused his broken foot. He also has a sprained knee.

The Raiders have lost defensive end Howie Long for at least six weeks with a broken bone in his right foot, the team confirmed Monday.

Plagued by injuries in recent seasons, Long was off to his best start in years, dominating offensive lines as he did in the mid-1980s, when he made five consecutive Pro Bowl appearances.

But the Raiders put Long on the injured-reserve list Monday, meaning he won’t be eligible to return until the team’s game against San Diego Oct. 21. The Raiders have a bye the next weekend, so it could well be that Long will not play again until Nov. 4 at Kansas City.

Long was injured with 4 minutes 40 seconds remaining in the third quarter of Sunday’s game against Seattle. He blamed the break on the artificial surface in the Kingdome, saying that he caught his foot on a seam under a pile of players.

“I just couldn’t get my foot out,” he said Monday. “It felt like 27 seconds.”

Long said the injury would not have occurred on grass.

” . . . no!” he said. “Are you kidding me?”

A Raider official said that the artificial surface at the Kingdome was lumpy in spots because the turf isn’t replaced completely until after the baseball season. In some sections of the field, the baseball infield in particular, turf is rolled on top of existing carpet, causing unevenness in spots.

Long couldn’t identify the seam that cut his season short.

“I had five guys running at me,” he said. “You think I was looking at the carpet? I was trying to defend myself. It’s all bad, really. It’s not a matter of seams.”

Added Long: “Any time you’re injured, it’s disheartening. I don’t think I can put into words how disheartening it is. But it’s the nature of the game. Fortunately, it’s not a lingering injury.”

Long also sprained his right knee on the play, but said that injury isn’t serious.

What will he do as he waits to return?

“Anything I can, really,” he said. “Help some of the young guys. . . . It’s a situation where I can’t contribute. I’ve just got to try and stay in shape myself, but I’ve been through that before.”

Long’s injury further weakens the Raiders’ defensive line, the strength of the team not long ago. The unit is already without first-round pick Anthony Smith, out for the season after undergoing knee surgery.

“Any time you lose a guy like Howie Long, you test your team,” Coach Art Shell said. “We’re starting to get short in numbers, but I think the team will find a way to rally.”

The Raiders might also be without tight end Mike Dyal for an extended period. Dyal pulled a hamstring, prompting the Raiders to use running back Marcus Allen in the role of a tight end. Allen threw the lead block on Greg Bell’s game-winning touchdown run in the team’s 17-13 victory.

Shell said he will wait until later in the week to decide what to do with Dyal, who could be back in two weeks. Just in case, the team brought in former Raider Andy Parker for a workout Monday. Parker was with the Raiders from 1984 through 1988 before signing as a Plan B free agent with San Diego last season.