Despite his recent return from his mental health-induced layoff, South Africa’s superstriker Lyle Foster was not one of the 23 players Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos selected to fight for the country during the Ivory Coast-hosted Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in a few weeks.

Belgian tactician Broos on Thursday announced his final team for the continental competition, which kicks off on 13 January and ends on 11 February. 

Foster had been absent from his English Premier League club Burnley since last playing on 21 October. He returned during his side’s 2-0 defeat to Everton in mid-December, coming on as a second-stanza substitute.

The former Orlando Pirates player has started in two other matches since, including a 2-0 win over Fulham, where he picked up an assist. He was also in the side that recently lost 2-0 to Liverpool.   

The Bafana Bafana final squad to compete in Afcon 2023 in Ivory Coast. (Photo: X, formerly known as Twitter, @BafanaBafana)

Nevertheless, Burnley — through their manager, Vincent Kompany — said that Foster would probably not be fit for Afcon participation.  

“It is not even my decision; it’s not up to me. He just can’t. It is the medical advice we are getting at the moment,” Kompany told the Burnley Express a week ago.

During the Afcon squad announcement, a visibly disappointed Broos told SABC Sport that he had tried his best to get Foster into the team. 

“Our doctor had contact with the doctors at Burnley. I got the medical report where it stated it was ‘impossible’, I repeat it was impossible, for Foster to be at Afcon,” the coach stated.

“This is medical. Don’t ask me why. But the risk and the danger is still there that if it goes in a bad direction with Lyle, he goes back to where he started three months ago.

“I was also surprised to see the last weekend that he played again. But again, this is a medical decision, it’s not my decision … I’m not happy that he’s not there, because he’s a very good striker. But again, this is a medical decision. I can’t do anything about it.”

Orlando Pirates pair Zakhele Lepasa and Evidence Makgopa are the only players with a profile similar to Foster and the injured Lebo Mothiba in the final squad.

The 71-year-old Broos is attempting to win a second Afcon title following his African success with Cameroon in 2017.

Percy Tau and Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos during the South Africa men’s national soccer team training session and press conference at Tuks High Performance Centre on 13 November 2023 in Pretoria, South Africa. (Photo: Lefty Shivambu / Gallo Images)

From the 23 players who were picked from the 50-man preliminary squad that Broos initially announced a few weeks back, Al Ahly superstar Percy Tau is the headliner following an impressive couple of seasons with the Egyptian giants.  

Stellenbosch midfielder Jayden Adams — who has been pivotal for the Western Cape side this season — also cracked the nod. He recently helped Stellenbosch win their first top-flight trophy when they clinched the Carling Knockout Cup in mid-December.

Broos said last month that with few attacking midfielders to pick from, he viewed the 22-year-old as someone who might step up in the absence of Mamelodi Sundowns talisman Themba Zwane.

The 1996 African champions are in a group with Tunisia, Mali and Namibia for the 34th edition of the event. The South African Football Association had asked the Premier Soccer League to halt the league a few weeks before it was set to stop. But the association was swatted aside.

“That was also a problem. If you can start sooner, you can play two preparation games. Now we can’t — because on the 11th we have to go to Ivory Coast,” Broos said.

“So, there was only one moment that we could play a preparation game. We will play on the 10th of January, against Lesotho.” DM