England opener Haseeb Hameed, who made his debut in the ongoing Test series, has been ruled out of the tour due to a broken finger he suffered in the Third Test at Mohali.
The 19-year-old will return to England and undergo further tests. It is yet to be confirmed how long the opener will be ruled out for.
In England's second innings in the Mohali Test, the teenager batted lower down the order and scored an unbeaten 59 runs as the visitor eventually succumbed to an eight-wicket victory.
"He has got a broken hand, needs a plate within it to fix it. He's out for the whole tour, he is going home. A replacement would be called," Cook told reporters after the team's eight-wicket loss.
Hameed, nicknamed "Baby Boycott" for his unflappable style of play, came to bat at number eight on the fourth day and put in a strong performance during his 156-ball stay.
"To play like that (with an injury), that was a very special knock. Of course he devised a style to not bring the injured finger in play but (he) would have felt the vibrations," said Cook.
"It's obviously unlucky for a youngster who impressed us all with his technique and talent and obviously now his bravery and determination when he's playing for England. He'll do anything to get out there."
The Lancashire-born player won the hearts of many fans during his short India stay with Indian skipper Virat Kohli terming him "a future England star".
"Wish him a speedy recovery, showed great character for a 19-year-old at this level," Kohli said.
Hameed put on 41 runs for the last wicket with James Anderson before the Indian fielders ran out the number 11 batsman.
"(He) showed great maturity to play with a tail like that... Great prospect for England and definitely going to be a future star in all forms if (he) persists with his skill," said Kohli.
Hameed made 82 on his debut in the first test and has scored 219 runs in the series at an average of 43.8 to stake a strong claim to be Cook's long-term opening partner.
The fourth test in Mumbai starts on December 8.
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