Bafana coach Hugo Broos admits he is still annoyed by the absence of Lyle Foster at the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations.
The Burnley striker was named in Broos’ preliminary squad for the competition before withdrawing due to reported mental health issues.
He then went on to feature for the Clarets throughout the competition, playing against Luton Town, Manchester City and Fulham in January and February.
South Africa made it all the way to the semi-finals at AFCON, but may have gone one step further if they had a top striker leading the line.
Broos said on Goal: “Honestly, I’m not happy. I knew from the beginning what the problem was, I knew and I was understanding.
“I talked a few times with [Vincent] Kompany and I really understand what the problem was. Our doctor talked with the doctor of Burnley, we put everything together and we said yah okay it’s not good to call Foster.
“Certainly, Lyle himself wrote a letter saying, ‘Please don’t call me, I don’t wanna come. I’m not ready to play in the AFCON’.
“Okay, but then he starts playing and he plays every game, 90 minutes and it’s not week and week in England. He plays also several games in a week. And then I’m asking myself why it wasn’t possible that he came with us to Ivory Coast.
“And this is my frustration now a little bit and I will not blame someone. I will not blame Burnley; I will not blame Lyle for that. But I’m frustrated when I see that because we could use him.”