Burnley striker Lyle Foster is receiving specialist care for his mental health.
Foster has not played since Burnley’s 3-0 Premier League defeat at Brentford on October 21 and missed the Clarets’ last three games.
A Burnley statement read: “On behalf of Lyle Foster and his family they have asked us to share with you an update on Lyle’s illness.
“Recently, Lyle let us know that he continues to live with issues around his mental wellbeing and has reached out for help.
“He is currently in the care of specialists – giving him the support and care he needs to help him back to full health.
“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.
“We ask for your understanding and respect Lyle’s privacy around this matter and will not be making any more comment until further notice.”
One in four people in the UK experience a mental health problem each year.
— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) November 9, 2023
According to the PFA, over 75% of professional footballers have experienced some kind of mental health issue.
If you or someone you know is affected by the issues raised - please reach out.
Help is… pic.twitter.com/LBlfe3YlJG
Foster signed a new five-year deal at Turf Moor last month, with boss Vincent Kompany saying the South African will become an “important” Premier League striker.
The 23-year-old joined Burnley from Belgian club Westerlo in January and has adapted quickly to the Premier League following the Clarets’ promotion, scoring three goals in seven appearances.
Kompany told the official Burnley website: “As a club we’ve very quickly and very naturally took the decision to support him and support his family.
“We have offered him access to all the expertise and clinical support that he needs.
“At the moment we’re wishing him a speedy recovery and wishing him to be in a better place by the time he’s ready to come back to us.
“We were very fortunate that Lyle had been very open with us and from that moment we were able to act.
“As soon as he said it and showed signs of how severe it was for him, straight away the entire support team within the club mobilised and we made sure that he could focus on his own recovery.
❤️🇿🇦 Burnley’s official statement: “On behalf of Lyle Foster and his family, they have asked us to share on update on Lyle's illness”.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 9, 2023
“Recently Lyle let us know that he continues to live with issues around mental well-being and has reached out for help”.
“He is currently in… pic.twitter.com/YHeuRTdXQM
“In moments like this you have to put the human first and that’s what we did.
“We’ll provide the best care possible for him to get over his mental health issues, and it’s not something in this world that is a taboo.
“It was breaking point for him and we felt also we could show how much we were dedicated to the players with us, but the people with us.
“We’re doing everything we can to get him to a place where he can do what he enjoys doing the most, which is playing football as soon as possible, because that will also affect his mental well-being positively in the future.
“But at this moment he’s one of us and we need to look after our own.”
