When ordered to prepare himself to travel with a mainly second string of players to London for a Worthington Cup tie at Arsenal, he apparently refused and instead returned home - believing he was being treated like a child who did not know what was best for him.
A series of calls between Old Trafford coaching staff and the player resulted in an agreement that he would travel by train to the capital on Monday and join up with the squad. Scholes, however, never caught the train and is believed to have called to confirm he would not make the match.
In the circumstances, the club had no option but to fine him the maximum of two weeks' wages, but the financial impact of his action is inconsequential compared to the long-term repercussions.
Eriksson hopes his midfielder can put his woes to one side when he puts on his England shirt. He said: 'Scholes has a game this Saturday as far as I am concerned. I was not aware United planned to play him on Monday against Arsenal, though I did see what part he played in the game against Liverpool. He arrived at training today in good spirits, and even scored some goals.
'If I saw a player who was down then I would talk to him but there was no reason to do that today. When players come here I want them to forget about their clubs and think about England.'
Eriksson, however, was less committed when quizzed as to whether he shared concern over the player's alarming dip in form.
When reminded that Scholes had been uncharacteristically poor in the World Cup qualifying match against Greece, he said: 'I have seen many players in my time and sometimes they play at the very top of the game and at other times they do not.'
Club manager Ferguson, who has known Scholes since he was a boy, can rightly claim to be a qualified judge of his character and when asked recently about the midfielder's attributes the reply was one of typical admiration.
'Scholes is a man's man,' said Ferguson. 'He plays his football the right way and then goes home.'
Scholes is not used to failure. Whether it is United or England, he more than most can claim a consistency of performance which others can only envy. He is as honest in his self-examination as he is in his football and when asked if the Greece match was his worst game for his country, he supplemented the argument with another.
He said: 'You have to be honest with yourself at all times. I've played 39 matches for England and a lot of people have suggested I haven't had a poor game for my country before the Greece match, but I don't know about that.
'My performance against Germany last year wasn't all that clever either. Looking back, though, the Greece game was just terrible, definitely the worst I've played in an England shirt. To be truthful, I don't know what it was.
'But it wasn't nerves or anything. I don't really get that nervous at any time in football. And temperament, well, that's always been regarded as one of my strengths.'
Until, it seems, he reached the end of his tether last weekend. Eriksson and England can provide him with some respite and a decent game at Old Trafford on Saturday might yet help the healing process.
