Lyle Foster to Miss AFCON Despite Burnley FC Return, Vincent Kompany’s Hands Tied

• Lyle Foster will stay in England in January and not travel to Ivory Coast for 2023 AFCON
• Foster's return gave hope that he might be able to contribute toward Hugo Broos' squad
• Burnley boss Vincent Kompany says he respects AFCON but is just following club orders

Short-lived hope has been quickly extinguished.

Lyle Foster made a surprise return to the Burnley matchday squad and with that, Bafana Bafana fans thought they would have a quality striker leading the line in Ivory Coast.

The Clarets have since squashed that possibility, saying the striker's progress on his mental health issues should not be disrupted at this time.

Vincent Kompany gave Foster 45 minutes in their 2-0 defeat to Everton in their last Premier League outing.

Quizzed on how he would manage the forward going ahead, the Burnley boss ruled out him playing anywhere else but for The Clarets. Burnley Express quoted Kompany as saying:

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"It’s not even my decision, it’s not up to me. He just can’t. It’s the medical advice we’re getting at the moment. The conflict of course is that he loves to play for his country. Even from my side, the AFCON is a big trophy."

Kompany elaborated that they had done everything possible to manage Foster's well-being and felt anything other than a stable environment could negatively affect that work.

The unavailability of the Burnley player will add further strain to Hugo Broos' preparations. Lebo Mothiba was also ruled out of the competition after fracturing a bone in his knee joint, as reported by FAR Post.

Broos is now left with Evidence Makgopa, Khanyisa Mayo, and Iqraam Rayners as specialist centre-forward options.

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Broos names preliminary AFCON squad

Sports Brief previously reported on Hugo Broos announcing his initial squad to prepare for AFCON 2023.

The 50-man squad will be trimmed down to 27 players, with the list needing to be submitted by January 4.

Broos was criticised for his selection, however, with fans questioning the omission of Relebohile Mofokeng.