England spinner Jack Leach is struggling with a "pretty serious" knee issue, the team's spin-bowling coach Jeetan Patel confirmed after an underwhelming second day of the first Test in Hyderabad.
Leach has bowled 25 overs and taken one wicket so far, removing India's captain Rohit Sharma (25) on day one.
The 32-year-old is England's most experienced spinner and features in the team alongside debutant Tom Hartley and teenager Rehan Ahmed, with a fourth spin option in Joe Root.
But the tourists struggled against a formidable Indian batting line-up as the hosts posted 421-7 to lead by 175 runs with three wickets remaining at stumps on day two.
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"Jack banged his knee last night, the first dive down at fine leg, then he banged it again today and it's giving him a little jip to be honest," said Patel.
"It must be pretty serious, or serious for him anyway, because the reality is he wouldn't shirk that responsibility. It is sore enough if you watch him in the outfield, and I don't think it's a graze.
"You noticed he was a little sluggish trying to get to balls, but he stuck at it and I thought he actually bowled really, really well considering. He tried everything and he used the options he had, bearing in mind he was a bit hampered.
"It's a shame for him as he was not able to move as good as he could have. He actually bowled really well considering.
"Hartley had to take that on. Rehan bowled superbly, created some chances and added a bit of flair to the game, and so did Root. The beauty of having so many spinners in the attack is you can share that."
England opted for only one seamer, Mark Wood, in their spin-dominated attack with veteran bowler James Anderson missing out, but Wood is yet to take a wicket having bowled 13 overs so far.
England's bowlers struggled against India who managed to build their formidable lead with wickets falling sporadically and mainly due to batters' errors rather than the bowler's skill.
"That's what Jack does for this team, he'll always put in, but it's a bit of a shame from where he's come [with his rehabilitation], to dive on one at fine leg and all of a sudden you're hobbling around," Patel added.
"It was a tough day for us. The guys put in a fantastic effort. It would have been nice if a few opportunities went our way but India batted really well, they put on some great partnerships.
"But we are really proud at the way we kept coming ball after ball and creating opportunities. At some point things turn for you and we just have to keep on going.
"Hartley has created opportunities and taken a couple of wickets. It would have been nice for him to have taken some more, but it is the way the game is at the moment. His time will come.
"Root started with a great wicket, we talked about how we were going to get into the game early. Then it was about short spells because Leach has that knee issue so we have to be careful with everyone else. You can't just have one guy bowling 40 overs."
Three of India's batters scored 80 or more - Yashasvi Jaiswal (80), KL Rahul (81) and Ravindra Jadeja (81no) - while England's skipper Ben Stokes (70) was the only visiting player to make a half-century.
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India vs England fixtures
- First Test, Hyderabad: Thursday January 25 - Monday January 29
- Second Test, Visakhapatnam: Friday February 2 - Tuesday February 6
- Third Test, Rajkot: Thursday February 15 - Monday February 19
- Fourth Test, Ranchi: Friday February 23 - Tuesday February 27
- Fifth Test, Dharamshala: Thursday March 7 - Monday March 11