Dwain Chambers arrived at Castleford Tigers in a blaze of publicity five weeks ago. The 30-year-old sprinter's departure, confirmed in a press release simply headed “Dwain Chambers”, was a more mundane affair. The Tigers had with “some reluctance concluded Dwain's trial period”. Whether other clubs will come in for him is uncertain, but a return to athletics looks a far safer bet.

His rugby league agent has received a couple of approaches, but the full-time contract that Chambers would want is unlikely to materialise, based on Castleford's decision not to proceed with a deal because of his age and the time necessary to prepare him for even reserve-team standard. Chambers's 39 minutes of playing time in an A-team friendly match amounted to a brave but painful baptism.

“While disappointed, Dwain is comfortable with and understands the decision,” Nick Collins, Chambers's solicitor, said of Castleford ruling out a £60,000 contract offer. “He has had a great time and made some good friends. He leaves in a positive mood and with a smile on his face.”

Terry Matterson, the Castleford coach, said that he initially thought that Chambers turning to rugby league was a publicity stunt, but that he “turned up and gave it a real go”. But a minimum six months in the reserve team and a full pre-season was not time that Castleford were prepared, or could realistically afford, to invest. “Furthermore, we have an outstanding group of young players coming through whom we need to focus upon and give our attention,” Richard Wright, the chief executive, said.

While bottom-placed Castleford concentrate on the serious business of securing a three-year engage Super League licence from 2009, there is the issue for Chambers of whether he will press ahead with a legal challenge to his British Olympic Association lifetime ban after his two-year drugs suspension in 2003, to run in the Beijing Games in August. Collins gave no clue as to the answer to that question.