Despite that, Ruijtenberg still wants Henderson to stay at Ajax under a new coach, and believes he is a player the club can rely on.
The big question now is whether that will happen, with Ajax having to draw up the balance sheet with his high wages a consideration point.
Henderson, having ultimately missed out on the England squad, will be contemplating his future, too.
Dutch weekly Voetbal International said the midfielder was startled by the level during training and matches and felt a lack of a high-performance culture at Ajax.
Henderson still wants to compete for trophies and perhaps has not found the environment he was used to at Liverpool.
It has to be said that Ajax have fallen off a cliff in recent years and are trying to rebuild rapidly, hence why they signed Henderson to help in that process.
Incoming manager Francesco Farioli, appointed on Thursday after the club did not reach an agreement with Graham Potter, will need to be asked about Henderson as well.
But if it is down to the players there seem to be no question marks.
After the last game of the season on Sunday at Vitesse, Devyne Rensch was another full of praise for the veteran.
“He is a real leader with a lot of experience,” said the young defender.
“You also see it during training, even when you are talking to him, not necessarily about football, just about life, then you just hear and see that he is really a good guy, a good leader, a good player for the team.
“In terms of the game, and also the experience, he has certainly helped us.”