Vincent Kompany reveals Lyle Foster ‘surprise’ after striker’s early Burnley return against Everton

Burnley were handed a major boost ahead of Saturday’s game against Everton with Foster’s name unexpectedaly featuring on the team sheet.

It was the striker’s first involvement in a match-day squad since the defeat to Brentford on October 21.

At the start of November, the club announced the 23-year-old would be taking an indefinite break from football to receive specialist treatment for his mental wellbeing.

Speaking on Thursday ahead of the Everton game, Kompany revealed Foster was making good progress but was unable to place a timeframe on his return.

Two days later, the South African was back involved, named among the substitutes before coming off the bench to replace Jay Rodriguez at half-time.

Foster’s return caught many off guard and Kompany admits he wasn’t expecting his striker to feature so soon either.

“It was a surprise to us as well,” he said.

“We hadn’t really expected that he was able to return. But it was the opinion of the experts that keeping him in his natural environment was important. Football is part of his life, it’s something he needs to do to be happy as well.

“We were ready for anything and 45 minutes physically is what he was able to do. In the second-half you could see how much of an impact he can have.

“I have to add, it’s really important not to confuse things. This is part of his process of getting back, it’s not like we can fly him all over the world now. This is just part of his return to health.”

Given Foster has missed 10 weeks of action, Kompany concedes the striker can’t be thrown straight back into the thick of it over the busy festive schedule.

“We follow what the medical experts say. It’s step by step,” he added.

“It’s being with the team, being with people he considers his friends and keeping a very small world for him. That seems to put him in a good place.

“This is just part of his recovery.”