England will find out in 48 hours the seriousness of Stuart Broad's arm injury, which forced him out of the attack after he had bowled 9.2 overs in the fourth ODI against India at Lord's. It may mean England will need to find another captain for the Twenty20 internationals against West Indies at The Oval because Eoin Morgan is out of action for at least three months

Broad, who was dosed up on painkillers and ready to bat at No.11 if needed, will have a scan on his triceps in the morning before a decision is taken on whether he is available for the final one-day international in Cardiff on September 16, which is now a dead game after the tie gave England the series. "It's only happened a couple of hours ago and we'll see how it settles down over the next 24-48 hours," Alastair Cook said.

With Morgan, England's Twenty20 vice-captain, sidelined due to a shoulder injury there is no obvious replacement for Broad as captain. One option would be to give Cook the job but he refused to think too far ahead, saying, "We'll cross all those bridges when they arrive."

The fact that the series is now safe for England takes pressure off the final match and reduces the impact of Broad's possible absence. He bowled well at Lord's, removing India's openers in his first two overs, and has enjoyed a superb second half to the season after his problems against Sri Lanka, which resulted in him being dropped from the one-day side.

Jade Dernbach was left out at Lord's - England played Steven Finn instead - so he would be the logical replacement for Broad in Cardiff. However, the pitch can favour spin so it may be an opportunity to give Samit Patel another outing before the Twenty20s against West Indies and the tour to India that starts early next month.

England have had been hit by far fewer injuries than India during the Test and one-day series, but had to contend with some problems. Chris Tremlett (back) missed three Tests and Jonathan Trott (shoulder) two, while Morgan was ruled out of action following the first one-day international at Chester-le-Street.

For Broad, meanwhile, it adds to an injury-hit 10 months which included the stomach strain that ruled him out of the final three Ashes Tests in Australia then he picked up a rib injury during the World Cup and was forced to fly home.