Sol Campbell may have played his last game of football after he was told today that he cannot sign for another club until January.

Notts County confirmed this afternoon that the former England defender had left the club "by mutual consent" after one game. But under FIFA rules, Campbell will not be allowed to join another club because he was contracted to County when the transfer window closed.

The 35-year-old could only join another team if he proved he had a just cause for quitting Meadow Lane.

Campbell left Portsmouth in the summer and, tempted by new owners and director of football Sven-Goran Eriksson, signed a five-year deal worth £40,000 a week with County.

He made his first and only appearance in the defeat by Morecambe last weekend before it became clear that he was already disillusioned with life at the League Two club.

County executive chairman Peter Trembling was deeply upset by Campbell's decision and claimed that the defender still had designs on playing for England at the World Cup in South Africa.

He said: "I spoke to his representative this morning and he has just decided it's not working out and he wants to move on. Perhaps things are not happening as quickly as he thought they might but this is a five-year project, not a five-week project. We can't just become a Premier League club overnight.

"That is how it is. If he doesn't want to play here, we don't want him."