Ruud van Nistelrooy's Manchester United future is in doubt after he drove away from Old Trafford three hours before Sunday afternoon's clash with Charlton Athletic.

Van Nistelrooy left Old Trafford at midday on Sunday after being told by United boss Sir Alex Ferguson that he would play no part in the game against Charlton.

A statement from the club at the time confirmed: “We can confirm Ruud van Nistelrooy has gone home.

“The club will be making no further comment as we are concentrating on today's game.”

Van Nistelrooy's United career has been the subject of intense debate since Sir Alex Ferguson axed him from the United starting line-up for the Carling Cup final win over Wigan at the Millennium Stadium in February.

At the time, the Dutchman, who is only the eighth player in United history to score 150 goals for the club (in just 214 games), accepted the decision, acknowledging Ferguson's argument that Louis Saha, having played in most of the earlier rounds, deserved to play in Cardiff.

Van Nistelrooy did make it clear he expected to be back for the following week's Premiership game against Wigan Athletic.

However, once again, he was on the bench, as he was for the subsequent three games, all of which United won.

While Van Nistelrooy did return for the win over West Ham on March 29, he was immediately relegated to the bench for the following week's match with Bolton and was on the bench two weeks ago at Stamford Bridge when Manchester United’s lingering title hopes were smashed by Chelsea.

The Dutchman will join up with the Holland squad this morning for a pre-World Cup training camp almost certain that his Manchester United career is now all-but-over.

The forward was left in no doubt about that as he was informed by Ferguson on Sunday that he would be excluded from the squad for the final Barclays Premiership game of the season against Charlton Athletic and also for the visit of Celtic for Roy Keane’s testimonial match on Tuesday evening.

Van Nistelrooy is now facing a similarly ignominious departure to that of former Man Utd captain Roy Keane last November, with the Oranje star leaving amid allegations of “incidents at training”, which are believed to relate to the latest in a series of verbal exchanges with Portugal’s young starlet Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Dutch striker booked himself on the first available flight to Amsterdam after storming away from Old Trafford, but he is believed to be outraged by his treatment and by the suggestion that he walked out on the team, with one source claiming that he was told by the manager that he was not welcome to join the rest of the squad.

Van Nistelrooy’s agent, Rodger Linse, declined to make any comment, saying “whatever my thoughts are, I’m not going to share them with the press”, but everything points to the fact that the rift between Van Nistelrooy and Ferguson is damaged beyond repair.

It has been said that van Nistelrooy, having been talked out of a move to another club by Ferguson 12 months ago, is forcing his way out of the club, but others say Sir Alex is desperate to sell him.

Whatever the truth, few, if any, players have crossed Ferguson and emerged to tell the tale.

Even though he is now in his 20th year at United, Ferguson's ruthless streak remains and his authorisation of Roy Keane's departure in November is proof of his willingness to take unpopular decisions if he believes it benefits the club.

However, it now appears that his appearance against Middlesbrough last Monday - when he missed the penalty which would have secured United's place in next season's Champions League group phase a week early, could be his last for the Red Devils.