Ian Wright faces criticism over Lyle Foster comments after Burnley man's exclusion from South Africa's AFCON squad

Medical experts recommended Foster shouldn’t be called up for this month’s tournament in the Ivory Coast as a result of his ongoing mental health battle.

The 23-year-old recently took an indefinite break from the game to receive specialist treatment, before returning to action in mid-December after eight weeks out.

While the striker has now played in five games straight for the Clarets, he hasn’t been selected by South Africa – a decision praised as “sensible” by Burnley boss Vincent Kompany.

The situation was discussed by Wright and fellow ITV pundit Karen Carney ahead of Burnley’s FA Cup tie against Tottenham on Friday night.

Carney, a former England international, spoke candidly about her own battles with mental health.

She said: “I can only empathise and say that when you’re going through mental health, you need familiarity around you, you need your support system and your comforts. A lot of people might not understand that.

“A lot of the time when I went away on international duty it felt quite claustrophobic and I lost my family and everything around me, so it was really challenging.

“I felt like I would go back into a dark place if I went there, so I do have some empathy and I do understand his decision.”

Wright, however, said there was “no way” he’d turn down the opportunity to represent his country were he to find himself in a similar position.

“Of course you’ve got to always have empathy for someone who’s having mental health issues,” he said.

“I think from a South African fan’s point of view, it will be very disappointing to see he can’t play for them. Yet while they’re playing in AFCON they’re watching him play for Burnley.

“As time goes by, he’ll probably realise how important he is to them. At the moment he’s in the bosom of Burnley and he can see Vincent Kompany talking about how much they love him and how much they want him. Why wouldn’t you feel comfortable in that situation?

“For South Africa, the other striker is injured so he’s the highest goalscorer in the qualifiers and they need him at that stage.

“I totally understand what Karen is saying but if it was me, there’s no way I’d turn down playing for my country to play for my club.

“I would say if I can’t play for my country, I wouldn’t play for my club, simply because of the ramifications as time goes by for him. That’s how I’d deal with it.”

Wright drew criticism for his comments, with Burnley fans heading to social media to express their disappointment.

“Very poor that by Ian Wright completely trivialising Lyle Foster’s illness. Disappointing,” Casey James wrote on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.

Callum added: “Grim that from Ian Wright. Vinny said the next phase of recovery is to get back in games - he is a footballer after all. Wright showing a real lack of empathy there.”

John Robertson, meanwhile, said this debate proves the need for further education on the matter.

He said: “Rather than beating Wrighty with a stick, let’s continue to educate and show understanding of mental health and its variants.

“It affects us all and it affects us all very differently.”

He added: “Family can help, home comforts can help, familiar surroundings can help. The truth is, lots of things can help and only Lyle and his support team know exactly what he needs.”