Vincent Kompany addresses the 'surprise' early return from injury for Burnley's Lyle Foster

Vincent Kompany dropped a major hint during his Thursday pre-match press conference for the game against Brentford that a “surprise” return could be on the cards.

That man turned out to be Foster, who was named in a Burnley squad for the first time in over a month.

The 23-year-old underwent surgery in February for a “chronic issue”, with his last appearance coming during the 2-2 draw against Fulham on February 3.

The South African was brought on during the 88th minute against the Bees as a direct replacement for David Fofana.

Foster would end up getting quite a bit of game time under his belt though due to the stoppage-time running well over 10 minutes.

His return comes at the ideal time for Kompany, who will be without loanee Fofana for Burnley’s next game against Chelsea due to being ineligible to face his parent club.

But even after the trip to Stamford Bridge after the international break, Kompany is desperate to have options at his disposal across the pitch.

“It’s another luxury, finally! It’s crucial for us,” he said.

“You just see that Fofana was probably gassed out towards the end [against Brentford] and being able to bring Lyle on with new energy, fresh energy, legs, threat, it’s so important for us.

“At times this season, due to injuries and other stuff, we’ve lost a lot of big players but towards the end hopefully they’ll all come back.”