Burnley coach Vincent Kompany insists the decision on whether Lyle Foster is available for Bafana Bafana at the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations is not in his hands after the striker's second straight start in the Premier League since his return.
Burnley announced on 9 November that the Bafana striker had taken time off from football action to receive medical attention due to a battle with mental health. Subsequently, Foster missed over five matches of action.
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Despite, that, the 23-year-old was named by Bafana coach Hugo Broos in his 50-man string preliminary squad for the upcoming AFCON.
Surprisingly, Foster made a return to action days after the squad announcement and came on as a second half substitute in a 2-0 defeat to Everton.
The striker was in the starting line-up once more and provided an assist in a 2-0 win against Fulham but was unable to help his side in their latest encounter, suffering a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.
"It's not even my decision, it's not up to me. He just can't [go to Afcon]. It's the medical advice we are getting at the moment," Kompany was quoted by Burnley Express after the match.
"The conflict of course, is that he loves to play for his country. Even from my side, the AFCON is a big trophy, it's a big competition.
"It's important for me as an African coach to support the competition, but it's not up to me. I just relay [the message].
"We've done everything for the human being to this point, there's no reason to change all of a sudden now."
In the game that has flown under the radar ??
— SuperSport Football ?? (@SSFootball) October 3, 2023
Lyle Foster returns to the starting line-up to secure Burnley's first league win of the season ??
It ends Luton 1-2 Burnley ??#LUTBUR pic.twitter.com/UbG4gKRQjP
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Meanwhile, Broos is set to announce his final 23-man Bafana squad on Thursday, that is scheduled to report for camp on 4 January to begin preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations of Nations.
Should Foster be unavailable, it will be a blow for the Belgian coach, who has already lost striker Lebo Mothiba to a knee injury, while Kaizer Chiefs' Sibongiseni Mthethwa is also a doubt after recently sustaining a toe injury.
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