Mantell, who had been a doubt in the run up to the tournament in Delhi after breaking his foot at the end of last year, sustained his latest injury during a training match against New Zealand.

The 25-year-old will be flown back to the UK immediately to begin treatment and has been replaced by Hampstead and Westminster's Dan Fox who is expected to join up with the squad on Friday.

The decision for Mantell to miss the 12-nation tournament comes just days after it was announced that Surbiton forward Matt Daly had been ruled out after the 26-year-old tore his hamstring at the squad's training camp in Doha, Qatar.

Daly is expected to be out of action for two months.

England kick their campaign in India off on Sunday against tournament favourites Australia. They will go on to play pool matches against India, Pakistan, Spain and South Africa.