England captain Michael Vaughan has been ruled out of the first Test against India, beginning in Nagpur on March 1, because of a recurring knee injury. All-rounder Andrew Flintoff will lead the side in his absence.
"Vaughan is ruled out. He is going home," England spokesman Andrew Walpole told reporters on Monday.
"It is too early to say whether he will be back for the remainder of the Test series or one-dayers."
Vaughan batted at the nets on Monday against spinner Ian Blackwell to test the knee.
The 31-year-old batsman had sat out of last week's tour match against the BCCI President's XI after having a pain-killing injection in a bid to get fit for the opening Test.
He also missed the first Test in Pakistan late last year after aggravating his right knee in a warm-up game, but returned for the last two matches of the series, won by Pakistan.
He skipped the subsequent one-dayers to undergo surgery and prepare for the India series.
England had another injury scare when fast bowler Simon Jones, touted to be a key factor for England because of his reverse-swing abilities, twisted his left knee during the net session. He was seen limping in the team hotel lobby with icepack in hand.
Jones, who will undergo a scan to assess the injury, was also sidelined by a stomach bug for the three-day tour game.
Problems for the injury-hit England team were compounded with Marcus Trescothick returning home for personal reasons, details of which were not released.
Apart from Vaughan, all-rounder Paul Collingwood (back injury) and Jones (virus) did not figure in the President's XI three-day match, in Baroda last week, which England lost by eight wickets. A sore back forced batsman Kevin Pietersen to retire hurt and fast bowler Liam Plunkett suffered a bruised heel.
Opener Alastair Cook, seamer James Anderson and Owais Shah had already been called in as replacements. Walpole informed that there would be no replacement for Vaughan.
England, looking to win their first Test series in India since 1984-85, will play three Tests and seven one-day internationals during the tour.
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