Burnley: Lyle Foster ‘not in a position’ to play at Afcon – Vincent Kompany

Burnley striker Lyle Foster is “making progress” but is “not in a position” to join South Africa for the Africa Cup of Nations, says manager Vincent Kompany.

He has been on a leave of absence since 9 November because of the recurrence of a mental health issue.

“Physically he is in a good place and it seems like we have made progress,” Kompany told BBC Sport.

The club announced last month that Foster had reached out to the club for support and he has since been in the care of specialists.

Burnley host Everton in the Premier League on Saturday but no timeframe has been put on Foster’s first-team return.

Foster has earned 14 caps for his country, scoring four goals, with three of those goals coming this year.

Asked if he was surprised at Foster’s inclusion in the South Africa squad by manager Hugo Broos, Kompany said: “Unfortunately at the moment he is not in a position where he can go to the national team. He just can’t.

“It is 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 that has been assisting him in recent months.

“Conversations are ongoing but it is difficult for him to manage and for me because I am a coach of African origin. Afcon is very important. I feel very proud of any of our players representing us there because that tournament deserves the same importance as the Euros.

“For his conditions specifically, the human being that we have treated in the past month, he is not at a stage where he can do any of that. Hopefully in the future he can do much more for everybody on the big stage, but step by step.”

The Africa Cup of Nations starts on 13 January, with the final taking place on 11 February.

Foster spoke about suffering with depression in July and last month the club released a statement “on behalf of Lyle Foster and his family” which said he “continues to live with issues around his mental wellbeing and has reached out for help”.

Kompany said in November that speaking up about mental health is “not a taboo” any more as he explained Foster was at “breaking point” when he sought and was given support.

Foster has scored three goals and provided two assists for Burnley this season, last featuring for the team in the 3-0 defeat at Brentford on 21 October.

Kompany added: “Lyle is making progress. We are still following it closely and he is still receiving treatment, but we have been fortunate that we have been able to work on the fitness side with him.

“His progress is what you would want it to be in terms of his mental health and physically he is in a good place as well.”

Asked if Foster was back at the training ground, Kompany replied: “It started elsewhere and we are progressing into the next phase.”