Harmison's injury ends a run of 28 consecutive Test appearances

He complained of soreness in his right shin following the second match at Mohali and a scan of his leg revealed what has been described as bone stress.

Captain Andrew Flintoff described losing Harmison as a "massive blow".

It could mean a reprieve for Harmison's Durham team-mate Liam Plunkett, who was expected to lose his place to veteran spin bowler Shaun Udal.

The only other alternative would see James Anderson thrown in at the deep end without having played a single game on tour, although he recently saw action for England A in the Caribbean.

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Whichever option England go for, skipper Flintoff is determined they will give it their all to try and win.

"The side playing out here has been different through many circumstances and we have done well on the whole," he said.

"It is a must-win game for us and we want to draw this series, we deserve to do that and we can do that.

"It would be a massive achievement for the team; we have got some new caps, inexperienced players and if we could beat the Indian side with all their experience it would be a monumental effort."

ENGLAND'S TALE OF WOE 7 Feb Ashley Giles unable to travel with squad after hip surgery; Ian Blackwell called up 23 Feb Skipper Michael Vaughan suffers knee trouble during a warm-up game 25 Feb Vice-captain Marcus Trescothick leaves the tour for personal reasons 27 Feb Simon Jones injures left knee during practice and flies home with Vaughan 2 Mar Vaughan sees surgeon in Sheffield and is ruled out of rest of Test series 11 Mar England confirm Trescothick will not return to India; Vaughan, Jones and Giles ruled out of rest of tour

He added: "For five days we need to get it right, come together and show the same enthusiasm, character and ability we have done for patches in these last two Tests."

Harmison's injury continues a run of bad luck which has dogged England from before the tour began.

Ashley Giles did not even make it onto the plane following surgery on his hip and three other heroes of last summer's Ashes-winning side - Michael Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick and Simon Jones - had to return home early.

Harmison bowled only four overs on the final day at Mohali, which India won by nine wickets.

At the time, however, both Flintoff and coach Duncan Fletcher both played down talk about a possible injury.

But he missed practice in Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, on Thursday and a scan of his leg confirmed he would not be able to play in the Test.

England will now seek further medical advice before deciding whether he will be fit enough for the seven one-day internationals which conclude the tour.

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Harmison suffered from shin problems earlier in his career, pulling out of an England A tour to the West Indies in 2000-01 and missing part of an A tour to New Zealand the previous winter.

But a change of footwear appeared to have solved the problem.

His recent fitness record has been excellent and he has been an ever present in the side since a bad back put him out of the second match in Bangladesh in October 2003, a run of 28 consecutive Tests.

The 27-year-old is the spearhead of England's attack, having taken 159 wickets in 41 Tests.

But he has not been at his best in India, his five wickets in the series so far coming at a cost of almost 39 runs each.