Ryan Sidebottom's return is again in doubt while Stuart Broad has been warned by the match referee © Getty Images

Ryan Sidebottom's hopes of featuring in the third ODI against India on Thursday have been dealt a blow after he was sent for a scan on his lower back following the team's arrival in Kanpur.

Sidebottom, the reigning England Player of the Year, has been dogged by persistent injuries in recent months, most recently an Achilles problem that ruled him out of the Stanford Series showdown in Antigua, as well as the first two ODIs in India.

He has not featured in England's ODI team since the series against New Zealand in June, while his most recent international appearance came in the Edgbaston Test against South Africa in July, when he was again troubled by back problems.

The soreness on that occasion was attributed to England's strenuous itinerary, in particular the need for a new hotel bed every few days. With that in mind, the India tour - with regular flights and short stays in different cities - is unlikely to be helping his complaint.

With England 2-0 down and their seamers struggling for control against India's batsmen, Sidebottom was expecting to come into contention for the Kanpur ODI. However, his results are not due back until the eve of the game on Wednesday, leaving him little time for preparation.

Meanwhile, Stuart Broad, the pick of England's attack with 4 for 55 at Indore, has been reprimanded by match referee Roshan Mahanama for excessive appealing. The particular incident that got Broad in trouble was when he reacted to a bouncer being called wide.

"I'd have probably been fined my whole match fee if my Dad had been the ref," he said. "I got called into the match referee's office for dissent, but it was just a talking to, nothing more than that."

Mahanama clearly wants to catch any threat of emotions spilling over early in the series, as he also talked to Harbhajan Singh after the opening match about his send-off to Samit Patel.

"The umpire felt it was borderline to showing dissent and with him being a young lad I thought it best to have him in for a talk and nip it in the bud," Mahanama said. "I don't want to see players reacting like that, they need to show respect to umpires at all times. We encourage players to work with the umpires and ask them to explain why any decisions have been given. That can overcome a lot of problems."