Ben Foster's chances of forcing himself back into the reckoning for England's World Cup squad are receding quickly after it emerged his stock has fallen so much at Manchester United that he is training apart from the other players in some sessions.
After starting the season as Sir Alex Ferguson's No1, in place of the injured Edwin van der Sar, Foster has endured a wretched time, making a series of mistakes that have seen him not only drop behind the Dutchman but also Tomasz Kuszczak. Foster has made only one league appearance since 3 October.
Despite interest from a number of Premier League clubs, Foster resisted the opportunity to go out on loan in January, believing that he would have more hope of figuring prominently in Fabio Capello's England plans by staying with the champions. That decision now appears to have backfired and he is known to be giving renewed thought to his future in light of Van der Sar signing a one-year contract extension that will take him beyond his 40th birthday.
Ferguson had expected Foster, who has four England caps, to make a serious challenge for Van der Sar's place and be assured of a place at the World Cup, but Capello now seems certain to have West Ham's Robert Green as his first-choice, with David James and Joe Hart in reserve.
The revelation about Foster training alone was made by Gary Bailey, the former United goalkeeper, after he visited the club's training ground on a recent trip from his home country, South Africa. Bailey said he was "amazed and sad" to find Foster not involved with the rest of Sir Alex Ferguson's squad.
"I was over for the Chelsea match and I popped into Carrington and watched the goalkeepers training," Bailey said. "He [Foster] was having a separate session with United's keeper coach, Eric Steele, while Edwin van der Sar and Tomasz Kuszczak were the keepers in a five-a-side match."
Bailey did praise Foster's performance, saying "he made one save that forced me to applaud" and that he did not regard him as a "damaged-goods player" but he added: "It is amazing and sad to see a lad who was United's No1 and an England keeper now languishing as third-choice at Old Trafford with no chance of going to South Africa – and he couldn't get a game in the practice session."
The former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton suggested today that the 26-year-old may have to leave Old Trafford at the end of the season. "I feel he may miss out this summer," Shilton said, "and although he does not want to leave a team like Manchester United, he may have to."
Capello and United have been boosted by the news that Wes Brown has recovered from the broken metatarsal that has kept him out for six weeks, with the defender in contention for United's game against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
In Foster's case, however, Capello operates by the policy that he does not like to include players who are not featuring regularly for their club and Ferguson appears to have lost faith in the man he described, earlier this season, as the outstanding English goalkeeper in the league. Rio Ferdinand is also back in full training after his groin injury and hopes to return at the weekend.