And not, presumably, because he thought that he'd be a liabilty in a match when we'd need every player battling for the ball and pulling their tripe out!
Anyway, van der Meyde seems quite contrite in his comments and he has back tracked quite significantly.
He told the club's official website:
"I would like to take this opportunity to publicly apologise to the manager, the coaching staff and my team-mates for the way things have developed in recent weeks," he told evertonfc.com.
"There have been some newspaper articles and stories that have been embarrassing for me and I would like to put the record straight.
"I was quoted as saying that David Moyes said one thing to me and a different thing to the press. I acknowledge that that is simply not true and I am sorry for the confusion and offence the comments caused.
"I would like to stress that at no point has the manager been anything less that 100% truthful towards me. If I have been fit and not selected for the team then I just have to accept it as part and parcel of football.
"I have had problems since arriving at Everton, both on and off the pitch, but I still feel that I can contribute something to the team between now and the end of the season. This is a wonderful football club that deserves to qualify for Europe and the best way I can repay everyone here is to do my best to help make it happen.
"It would be a nice way to thank the Everton fans who have treated me so well and been so supportive from the day I arrived."
But, even with the current crop of injuries, it's unclear whether van der Meyde will play for the first team again this season and he will surely be on his way out of Goodison in the summer.Which is a shame as he is a player of undoubted quality, it just appears that a combination of injuries, bad luck and, at times, a bad attitude have all added up to what he will call his "Goodison Hell" when he buggers off to Peruggia in the sumer.