Michael Owen has hinted for the first time at the true depth of his frustration at being cast into the shadows by England manager Fabio Capello.
Owen has been consistently ignored by Capello since the Italian took charge and will once again be at home in Cheshire when England play Egypt in tomorrow's World Cup warm-up.
For nearly two years Owen has maintained a dignified silence over his international exile, but the mask slipped for just a moment in the aftermath of Sunday's bittersweet 2-1 League Cup final win against Aston Villa.
After spending much of the season as a bit-part player with United, Owen was handed a rare moment in the spotlight as he started ahead of Wayne Rooney at Wembley.
He seemed determined to seize the opportunity and rolled back the years with an effervescent display capped by a superb 13th minute strike to cancel out James Milner's early penalty.
With Capello watching from the stands, Owen had proved he still has the ability to make his mark on the game's grandest stages.
Yet before the half was over, Owen's day had taken an all too familiar turn as he pulled up with a hamstring injury.
Suddenly it was easy to see why Capello isn't prepared to risk gambling on such a fragile player and Owen must have know his faint hopes of going to South Africa were over.
Perhaps that was behind his revealing response when he was asked if he felt his England chances had taken another blow.
"I've said many times it's difficult for me to talk about it or find the right words because one slip of the tongue and I'm going to be on the back page," he said.
After such a day of conflicting emotions, Owen could be forgiven for being in combative form when he faced reporters following the match.
"It's not been difficult to accept my role here. I would like to play a lot more obviously but you try getting in the team with Wayne Rooney playing like this," he said.
"If Wayne hadn't been scoring two or three in every game then the manager might have rotated a bit more and I would have got more games, so there is no way I am unhappy with my decision or how things have gone."