US captain Keegan Bradley put English’s name in the envelope in case of injury to a European player.
When the draw for the singles came out following play on Saturday, English and Hovland were paired in the 12th match.
Hovland’s issue flared up following his Saturday morning foursomes victory alongside Robert MacIntyre against Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley.
Scheduled to play with Matt Fitzpatrick in the afternoon fourballs, Hovland was replaced by Tyrrell Hatton.
Hovland, who said he has “had some issues with a neck injury on and off for the last two months”, had an MRI scan on Saturday evening.
This is the third time the envelope rule has been used since it was introduced in 1979.
In 1991 American Steve Pate was injured in a car crash before the Ryder Cup started, and in 1993 Europe’s Sam Torrance could not play on the Sunday because of an infected toe.