In the punishing and oE.I.T.sionally violent world of professional football, a toe injury could cause the Alouettes big problems this weekend.

Dave Stala, one of the Als' four 1,000-yard receivers, left last weekend's playoff game against Saskatchewan with turf toe. While the wide receiver might be unable to practise this week, he vowed he'll play in Sunday's East Division final against Toronto.

"I'm expecting to play. It's a big game and I'll do what I can to help," said Stala, who caught 83 passes for 1,037 yards this season, his first as a regular starter. He scored five touchdowns.

Turf toe is a relatively new injury that burst onto the scene after the advent of artificial turf. It's a sprain of the ligaments behind the big toe and a capsule of the metatarsal phalangeal joint, explained Scott Suter, the Als' head athletic therapist. A player, he added, overextends and sprains his toe, causing pain and inflammation.

"It limits a player's ability to run because he pushes off the toe," Suter said.

Stala suffered the injury on the second play of the second quarter, while the Als were marching to their second touchdown. He caught an Anthony Calvillo pass and lateraled the ball to Ben Cahoon. Stala was tackled by Jackie Mitchell and banged the big toe on his left foot against Olympic Stadium's hard and antiquated surface. The injury potentially wouldn't have been as serious had the game been played at Molson Stadium, where FieldTurf is used. Toronto's Rogers Centre has the same surface.

Stala left the game in the second half.

"The lateral wasn't planned," Stala said. "I saw Ben in my vision and took a chance. I got it taped up and it felt better, but there was still a lot of strain. It feels 10 times better now. I think the pain will be down by Sunday with some taping and support."

If Stala can't play, he'd be replaced by Sylvain Girard. The Als also could decide to activate Canadian receiver O'Neil Wilson.