Flintoff is to see a specialist on Wednesday with a view to having an operation on Friday to help cure his troublesome hernia ahead of the winter's Ashes series.

The injury is set to rule the all-rounder out for between four and six weeks.

England skipper Nasser Hussain said: "It would be unlikely if Andrew was fit for The Oval.

"He's got to have an operation before the Test match so there's a place up for grabs."

Flintoff failed to contribute in the second innings of the third Test at Headingley as India fought back to level the series at 1-1 with victory by an innings and 46 runs.

"He had a poor game here and needs to get himself right for the Ashes (in Australia from November) and beyond," added Hussain.

"In the short term there is a long injury list in the all-round department. But the most important thing is to get Andrew right for the future rather than just looking after the present all the time.

"If there is someone available to do that role we need to look at that."