Burnley coach Kompany says Lyle Foster not ready to play at Afcon

15 December 2023 - 10:00
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Burnley coach Vincent Kompany says Bafana Bafana striker Lyle Foster is not ready for Afcon.
Burnley coach Vincent Kompany says Bafana Bafana striker Lyle Foster is not ready for Afcon.
Image: BackpagePix

Burnley coach Vincent Kompany says Bafana Bafana star striker Lyle Foster is not in a position to play at the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in the Ivory Coast. 

This comes after Foster, who in November took an indefinite break from football to receive specialist care for his mental health, was included by Bafana coach Hugo Broos in his 50-man Afcon preliminary squad. 

Speaking to Burnley Express, Kompany said Foster, who hasn’t featured for the Clarets since October 21, cautioned against talking the striker into taking part in the tournament which takes place between January 13 and February 11. 

“Unfortunately, at the moment he’s not in a position where he can go to the national team, he just can’t,” said Kompany. 

“It’s not something he can do at the moment, going away for a long time and being in a very different environment. 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 who has been assisting him in recent months.” 

Kompany, who is of African descent, added he has a lot of respect for Afcon but Foster is not ready to play at the tournament because he is still receiving treatment. 

“The conversations are ongoing. I’m a coach from African origin so the Afcon is very important and I feel very proud of any player representing us there because that tournament deserves the same importance as the Euros. 

“But for his condition specifically, the human being, which is the person we’ve treated in the past month, he’s not at a stage yet where he can do any of that. Hopefully in the future he will be able to do much more for everybody on the big stage, but it’s step by step.” 

Kompany went on to provide an update on Foster’s recovery, adding: “Lyle is making progress. We’re still following him closely, he’s still receiving treatment. But we’ve been fortunate that we’ve been able to work with him on the fitness side and physically he’s in a good place.” 

Kompany concluded by saying Foster is doing physical work. 

“It started elsewhere and then we’re progressing into the next phase. I’m not able to put a time frame on it. What is important for me is that physically he’s in a good place and it seems like we’ve made progress, so we’ll see.” 


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