Harmison suffered the injury in the fourth Test against West Indies

Harmison had surgery on Tuesday and will be out for four to six weeks.

Coach Peter Moores said: "Unfortunately for him the hernia has come back and now it's all about getting the operation done as quickly as possible."

James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett are vying for the third seamer's spot for for the first Test which starts at Lord's on Thursday.

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Harmison first sustained the injury during the final Test against West Indies at Chester-le-Street nearly a month ago but, after tests, England's medical staff agreed to let him play on rather than operate then.

He had hoped to play a full part in the series against India and then participate in Durham's first domestic final in the Friends Provident Trophy at Lord's on 18 August before having surgery.

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But he suffered a recurrence of the problem during Durham's Championship match against Sussex at Hove last week.

Moores said the decision to wait and see if Harmison's injury improved was the right one.

"We've got a good medical team. When he did it the first time, we thought that might be it," he explained.

"But then they looked at it again and it settled down. He played at Chester-le-Street and was fine. It remained exactly the same.

"It was felt there was a good chance he could manage it but at Sussex he did it fielding."

Harmison retired from one-day internationals last winter so his next action with England is likely to be the Test side's tour to Sri Lanka in December.

Hampshire ace Chris Tremlett has been called into the squad

Harmison's misfortune means Leicestershire paceman Broad looks closer than ever to making his Test debut at the age of 21.

Broad's extra pace and bounce would offer greater variety to a new-ball attack expected to be led by Matthew Hoggard and Ryan Sidebottom.

Lancashire's Anderson is a similar type of bowler to Hoggard and Sidebottom - offering swing rather than pace.

And with the Lord's wicket offering more bounce than in the past, England would probably favour Broad's claims over Anderson, who has not played a home Test since 2004.

Hampshire's Tremlett, who was called into the squad as extra cover on Monday, has played in six one-day internationals without making a Test appearance.

But in all likelihood the 6ft 7in seamer would need at least one more England bowler to break down before Thursday to get a chance of playing.