Toronto FC announced Friday that English striker Danny Dichio will be out of action for the next two to four weeks after sustaining an injury in training.

Dichio tore a foot muscle during a Tuesday practice session after crashing into defender Tyler Hemming.

Forward Danny Dichio, left, leads Toronto FC with five goals this season.
(Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Dichio will not travel with Toronto for Saturday night's road game against FC Dallas.

"Obviously we're very happy that the injury is not a season-ending one," Toronto coach Mo Johnston said. "Danny is an important part of this team, both on the field and off of it — and we will still miss him while he recovers."

Dichio has been hampered by injury problems since a June 17 game when he sprained an ankle. Since then, he has had a back injury and a strained hip flexor.

The loss of Dichio, the team's top scorer, with five goals, is a big setback for a Toronto squad that is riding an eight-game winless streak (five losses and three draws) and has had trouble scoring.

The expansion franchise has gone 642 consecutive minutes (almost 11 hours) without scoring, shattering the old Major League Soccer benchmark for goal futility, 557 minutes, set by Real Salt Lake in 2005.

Toronto's last goal came on July 7 in a 1-1 draw against the Chicago Fire. Its last win was against Salt Lake on July 4.

Dichio has played in 16 games for Toronto this season, 14 as a starter, and has logged 1,130 minutes of playing time. 

Toronto FC already has three key players out for the season due to injuries: striker Jeff Cunningham, goalkeeper Greg Sutton and midfielder Ronnie O'Brien.