Ravi Bopara will miss the remaining two NatWest Series matches and the World Twenty20 tournament due to a dislocated and broken thumb.
Essex all-rounder Bopara suffered the injury in the fifth one-day international against India at Headingley.
Bopara was a notable absentee as England prepared at The Brit Oval this morning for the sixth NatWest Series match against India.
Bopara is one of three significant injury worries for England, who lead 3-2 in the series with two matches to play - the first of which takes place in south London tomorrow.
Lancashire all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, who missed the Headingley contest because of more discomfort in his troublesome left ankle, did little strenuous in the early stages of England's fielding sessions today.
Hampshire pace bowler Chris Tremlett - out of tomorrow's match with a foot injury - is another of England's most pressing concerns among the squad picked to fly to South Africa on Sunday for the inaugural world Twenty20.
Hampshire's Dimi Mascarenhas could now be called up for the Twenty20 squad to replace Bopara.
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