Burnley coach Vincent Kompany has given update regarding Bafana Bafana striker Lyle Foster, who was surprisingly included in Hugo Broos’ 50-man provisional squad for next month’s Africa Cup of Nations finals.
Foster has been given time off by his club as he dealt with mental health issues, and subsequently missed last month’s World Cup qualifiers with Bafana.
But while Broos included Foster, it looks likely that he will not be with Bafana in Ivory Coast.
He has not played club football since the 21st of October, and Kompany gave an update on Foster’s current situation, stating that the 23-year-old is not ready to return to the international team at this time.
“Unfortunately at the moment he’s not in a position where he can go to the national team, he just can’t,” Kompany said at a press conference on Thursday, ahead of their fixture against Everton.
“His love for his country has no limits and his desire to do well has no limits but that would be going against the advice of every expert that has been assisting him in recent months.
“I’m a coach from African origin so for me the AFCON is very important and I feel very proud of any player representing us there because I think that tournament deserves the same importance as the Euros but, for his condition specifically, the human being, he’s not at a stage yet where he can do any of that.
“Hopefully in the future he’ll be able to do much more for everybody on the big stage but step by step.”
“Lyle is making, I think you describe it, as progress,” Kompany added
“We still follow him closely, he is still receiving treatment, but we’ve been fortunate we’ve been able to work on the fitness side with him, so his progress is what you would want it to be in terms of his mental health but physically, he is in a good place as well.
“I’m not able to put a timescale on [his return] but physically, he is in a good place.”
