Burnley manager Vincent Kompany says he will go easy on Lyle Foster after his red card at Nottingham Forest because of the striker’s battles with mental health.
Bafana Bafana forward Foster was dismissed in stoppage time of Monday’s 1-1 draw at the City Ground after he elbowed Ryan Yates, with the incident spotted by VAR.
The 23-year-old, who was also denied a goal by VAR, revealed earlier this year that he has previously struggled with depression and at one time contemplated taking his own life.
And that means Kompany will treat his player sensitively after his indiscipline.
🇿🇦 LYLE FOSTER SENT OFF 🟥
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) September 18, 2023
Night to forget for the South African striker who is shown a straight red card ❌
Final score: NFO 1-1 BUR#NFOBUR pic.twitter.com/g0Br70hL6b
“It is a shame because of the effort he puts into the team and how he is establishing himself in the team, I think that is something you have put forward first,” Kompany said.
“But he made a mistake. I am a little bit more cautious because he has been very open about mental health in the past so I will step away from it and just say ‘OK, make sure you are ready for the next game’.
“He has done brilliantly for the team. He knows himself, the main thing for me is we get him back to the level he was.
“He will be a big miss but that is why you build a squad. We have players who can play in this position and other players who can come in and add something.”
Burnley were able to get their season up and running with their first point after three successive defeats.
Having taken six points from their first four games, Forest would have been looking to build on that, but they could not get the job done.
“We want to be winning games here, of course,” boss Steve Cooper said.
“But it’s a Premier League game, it’s not as easy as that. Every team has players who can make a difference and phases of play which can make a difference. You have to accept that at times.
“It’s a game where, if you don’t win, don’t lose. That became quite important as the game went on.
“We changed formation. We had lots of new players in the team and in the squad. It doesn’t just happen like that; it’s going to take some time to get some rhythm in our game. We’ll look at the positives.”
