CHICAGO -- Paul Konerko rolled on the ground during the fifth inning of Tuesday night's White Sox game against the Blue Jays at U.S. Cellular Field, clutching his right knee in pain.

As the rest of the White Sox infield quickly moved in around him and manager Ozzie Guillen and athletic trainer Herm Schneider raced out from the dugout, one thought ran through the team captain's mind.

"All I could think about on the ground was, 'Is that what it feels like when you blow your knee out?'" said Konerko, speaking in front of his locker after the game. "It scared me more than anything.

"It did hurt, but the pain went away. That almost scared me more, because you hear how it doesn't hurt when you blow something out."

Although he was helped off the field with two outs in the fifth, the prognosis for one of the White Sox true team leaders came away much better than it originally looked. Konerko was diagnosed with a mild sprain of his MCL, and X-rays of the knee were negative.

A MRI will be done on Wednesday to confirm those results, and as Konerko termed it, give him "peace of mind." But he expects to be dealing more with day-to-day pain, as opposed to a season-ending injury.

Guillen, on the other hand, seemed to be preparing for a little more extended absence for Konerko. The White Sox manager dealt with his own knee problems in 1992, having missed most of the season when suffering torn knee ligaments following an outfield collision with Tim Raines on April 21.

"I got the news form Hermie, and he said day-to-day," Guillen said. "And I said, week-by-week. This injury can't stop the season. We have to continue to move on and fight."

Konerko's injury came on a seemingly harmless play, as he cut off a throw from Jermaine Dye after Alex Rios' RBI single to right field. Rios strayed too far off first base, so Konerko made the throw to second to get Rios in a rundown.

Konerko's right leg slipped on a patch of wet grass as he made the throw, with his body weight causing the knee to go to a place inwards it shouldn't have been. Konerko immediately fell to the ground, and Rios eventually was tagged out.

"I've never felt my knee go to a place like that," said Konerko, who made his first career trip to the disabled list from June 15-July 7 of this season with a Grade 1 strain of his left oblique muscle. "I felt a couple of little pops, and it went to a place it doesn't go."

Not only do the White Sox temporarily lose one of their leaders, but they also lose one of their hottest hitters. Despite an 0-for-4 showing on Tuesday, Konerko is hitting just under .400 in his last 15 games, with five home runs ad 11 RBIs.

With that run of strong offensive success in mind, which has taken his average up to .245, Konerko wants to get back on the field as soon as possible. Of course, contributing to the White Sox playoff push stands out as the main driving force.

Konerko could be back in two or three days or he could be back in a week. The main point coming from Tuesday's tests is that he should be back this season. That result didn't seem possible when Konerko initially was hurt.

"I was afraid to test it because I was afraid of what I was going to get," said Konerko of the initial medical examination that produced positive results. "There's going to be soreness, but if it all checks out, which it should, you can power through and know you are not doing any more damage.

"As soon as I can go, I'll go," Konerko added.