Lyle Foster announced that he is leaving Burnley now present another significant issue for…

Burnley striker Lyle Foster has been left out of South Africa’s squad for the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations as he continues to receive treatment for his mental health.

Foster had been named in the preliminary squad for next month’s tournament, but Burnley boss Vincent Kompany had said in mid-December that the 23-year-old was “not in a position” to travel.

It is not something he can do at the moment, going away for a long time and being in a very different environment,” Kompany told the BBC. “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.”

South Africa manager Hugo Broos confirmed his final selection on December 28 and said he had received a medical report from the Premier League club that supported Kompany’s assessment.

Burnley said on November 9 that Foster would be taking a leave of absence due to issues connected to his “mental well-being”.

He returned to action on December 16 against Everton, before travelling to London for last week’s win over Fulham and then starting the Boxing Day defeat to Liverpool.

Speaking after the 2-0 loss to Everton, during which Foster came on for the second half, Kompany said: “(His involvement) was a surprise to us as well. We hadn’t really expected that he was able to return. But it was the opinion of the experts that keeping him in his natural environment was important.
“Football is part of his life, it’s something he needs to do to be happy as well. We were ready for anything and 45 minutes physically is what he was able to do.

“I have to add, it’s really important not to confuse things. This is part of his process of getting back, it’s not like we can fly him all over the world now. This is just part of his return to health.

“We follow what the medical experts say. It’s step by step, it’s being with the team, being with people he considers his friends and keeping a very small world for him. That seems to put him in a good place. This is just part of his recovery.”

South Africa start their group campaign against Mali on January 16, before playing Namibia and Tunisia.