KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Priest Holmes will likely miss next Monday night’s game against the New England Patriots with sprained knee ligaments, the same injury that kept him out of Kansas City’s loss to New Orleans on Sunday’s loss to New Orleans.

“I would say he’s out,” Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said Monday.

“I think he’s made a little progress, but he’s got a long ways to go. I don’t see him being any different than it was last week.”

Holmes, who leads the NFL in scoring with 90 points and ranks third in the AFC in rushing with 892 yards, injured his right knee against Tampa Bay on Nov. 7.

While he sat out the 27-20 loss to the Saints, his replacement, Derrick Blaylock, ran for 186 yards.

Vermeil said he does not expect Holmes will need surgery.

“That has not been expressed to me,” Vermeil said. “Those sprains, they give them degrees, and everybody comes back at a different tempo. He always comes back quickly. But he’s sprained that knee before so there’s some other issues there as well.

“So we’ll just be patient with him. We won’t bring him back too fast, believe me.”

Kansas City is 3-6.

AP-ES-11-15-04 1946EST