Southampton/Mumbai, Sep 5 (IANS) An already injury-hit Indian cricket team suffered its biggest blow on the England tour Monday as master blaster Sachin Tendulkar was ruled out for the remainder of the ODI series due to a toe injury.

"Sachin Tendulkar has been ruled out of the ongoing ODI series against England due to a toe injury. He has been advised rest for four weeks. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has chosen S. Badrinath to replace him," Indian board secretary N. Srinivasan said in a statement issued in Mumbai.

Tendulkar becomes the eighth Indian player to return home since the start of the tour. Rohit Sharma was ruled out Sunday after a Stuart Broad delivery fractured his right index finger during the opening ODI match in Durham.

The likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh are nursing injuries they suffered during the Test matches and were not considered for the ODIs.

Satish, the Indian team's logistics manager, said of Tendulkar's injury: "Sachin went to see a specialist in London and after that it became clear that he will not be available for the remaining four-matches. He will take around 4-6 weeks to recover," he said.

The injury to the batting maestro also means he may not play for the Mumbai Indians in the Champions League Twenty20 beginning Sep 19.

Tendulkar's countless fans will also have to wait for his 100th hundred in international cricket until the start of the home series against England, starting with the first one-dayer at Hyderabad Oct 14.