Yorkshire all-rounder Craig White will have an operation on his knee after it was revealed his current injury stems from a bathing accident.

White was due to be in Zimbabwe with England's experimental one-day squad, but injured his knee when slipping in the bath.

His withdrawal led to the introduction of Graham Thorpe for that tour. But White is determined to play a lot of cricket this winter and will have keyhole surgery on the knee on Monday.

England's drawn-out winter schedule sees them return at the end of the month from Zimbabwe before heading out to India for a Test series on 13 November.

India optimism

Andrew Walpole, England's media relations manager, explained: "Craig is expected to be fit for India.

"The operation was scheduled for Monday specifically to give him time to recover."

The surgery, which was identical to the operation which Nick Knight underwent last year, is expected to sideline White for around four to six weeks.

That means he would hardly have time for a net before the tour of India.

White, 31, was a crucial part of England's Test squad which won four back-to-back series between summer 2000 and winter 2000-2001.

But though his form tailed off badly in the Ashes defeat earlier this year, his ability to bowl reverse swing and punish slow bowling on good pitches will be a useful asset for England.