VADODARA, Feb 25: England’s woes on their Indian tour multiplied on Saturday when vice-captain Marcus Trescothick flew back home to attend to unspecified family problems.

“Marcus has to go back for personal reasons. I think we have to respect the privacy of the matter,” coach Duncan Fletcher told reporters here.

Fletcher said it was “too early to say” if Trescothick would be back in time for the first Test starting in Nagpur on Wednesday.

It is the latest blow for the beleaguered tourists who earlier on Saturday crashed to an eight-wicket defeat at the hands of the Indian Board President’s XI in a three-day practice match.

England are already struggling to field 11 fit men at Nagpur following a spate of injuries and illnesses since arriving in India on Feb 13.

Captain Michael Vaughan is battling a recurrence of a knee injury, Kevin Pietersen and Paul Collingwood have back problems, fast bowler Simon Jones is recovering from a stomach bug and seamer Liam Plunkett has a bruised left heel.

England have called up batsman Alastair Cook and fast bowler James Anderson to bolster the squad, team spokesman Andrew Walpole said.

The duo were pulled out of England ‘A’s match against the West Indies in Antigua and will reach India in time for the first of three back-to-back Tests.

Cook and Anderson will stand by for the injured players, but Walpole said no player was being sent back home.

“We hope the players will recover in time and Cook and Anderson will be here purely as a precautionary measure,” Walpole said.

Vaughan was given a cortisone injection on Thursday to speed up his recovery, but remains in serious doubt for the Nagpur Test.

—Agencies