South Africa striker, Lyle Foster ruled out indefinitely over mental health issues

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The forward for South Africa and Burnley, Lyle Foster, will be sidelined indefinitely due to the reoccurrence of a mental health issue.

The 23-year-old has been contending with this challenge for a while and openly discussed his mental health struggles in July after experiencing a bout of depression.

Burnley is providing support to their striker during this time, and he is currently under the care of specialists as he works towards making a comeback to football.

“He is currently in the care of specialists – giving him the support and care he needs to help him back to full health,” wrote Burnley in an official statement on social media.

“With the love and support of his family and everyone at Burnley Football Club, we will do all we can to provide everything he needs to get better.”

Foster, who has scored three goals and provided two assists in eight games, holds the position of Burnley’s leading scorer this season. However, he hasn’t played for the club since the 3-0 loss to Brentford on October 21, 2023.

“I just used to try and go to training, play games and honestly the best thing to do at that time of my life was to go back home and sleep. There was no real excitement or looking forward to anything,” the striker told MSW Radio in an interview in July, as quoted by ewn.co.za.

“That’s when I realised I was in some trouble and I panicked a little bit. I didn’t know what was going on or how to deal with it because it was the first time I was in a position like that.”