Harmison doubtful for Tests vs India

The England pacer needs to undergo a hernia operation, the date of which will be decided after the fourth Test against WI.

England pace bowler Steve Harmison has a hernia and will need an operation.

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The 28-year-old Harmison's hernia is "non-serious" and a decision on when he will have the operation will be made on Tuesday at the end of the fourth Test between England and West Indies, the England and Wales Cricket Board said.

Harmison is playing in the Test and bowled 25 overs in West Indies' first innings, apparently at full speed.

Hernia operations for athletes usually involve an absence from sport of six to seven weeks. Harmison has retired from limited-overs cricket and wouldn't have been involved in one-day internationals against India and West Indies.

England's first of three Tests against India starts at Lord's on July 19, so he is unlikely to be fit for that series if he has the operation immediately.