England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has returned to England from playing in the Indian Premier League in South Africa to undergo surgery on his right knee.
The England and Wales Cricket Board expects Flintoff to be out of action for three to five weeks.
It means the 31-year-old will miss the two-Test series against West Indies, which starts at Lord's on 6 May.
But he should be fit for the ICC World Twenty20 in June and the Ashes series against Australia which follows.