Burnley forward Lyle Foster was unable to travel back from South Africa for the Championship match against Sunderland due to a passport issue, leaving manager Vincent Kompany less than impressed. The 22-year-old had been on international duty for South Africa's Africa Cup of Nations double header against Liberia, scoring twice in the first game, but was stopped from flying back to the UK because his passport did not contain two unstamped pages.
Despite the mishap, it is understood that Foster will not face a club fine. The £11 million January signing from Belgian club Westerlo had been expected to line up against Sunderland on Friday night, but instead missed the game as Burnley were held to a 0-0 draw at Turf Moor. It was the first time this season that any team has prevented the runaway Championship leaders from scoring at home.
A win over Sunderland would have meant that victory at Middlesbrough on Good Friday would have secured Burnley's return to the Premier League. Now they face tough back-to-back games against Boro and Sheffield United on Easter Monday. Kompany's side missed the chance to move a step closer to promotion against Tony Mowbray's spirited Sunderland side.
Kompany praised Mowbray's longevity in management, saying: 'When I'm Tony's age I'd love to be managing my teams like him. He's had to reinvent himself and has built a very good young Sunderland side.' The Burnley boss also expressed respect for Middlesbrough manager Michael Carrick, describing his brain as 'something that's standing out as a manager now as well as when he was a player at Manchester United.'
