Bafana Bafana have been dealt with an injury blow ahead of their 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers against Lesotho and Benin later this month, after Burnley striker Lyle Foster was forced off with an injury on Tuesday night.

Determined to make an immediate return to the English Premier League following their relegation last season, Burnley hosted West Bromwich Albion at Turf Moor Stadium with the two sides sharing the spoils as Zian Flemming cancelled John Swift’s 20th minute opener for the visitors.

The Clarets coach Scott Parker, who was shown a red card, brought on Foster for the goal scorer Flemming in the 63rd minute in a bid to claim maximum points. However, the Bafana international couldn’t finish the match as he was withdrawn for club legend Ashley Barnes after sustaining an injury in the 87th minute.

Foster has already missed 13 games for the promotion-chasing side through a knee injury he previously sustained on national duty in the 5-0 thumping of Congo Brazzaville in the 2025 AFCON Qualifiers in October last year. The severity of the recent injury remains unclear at this stage.

The Orlando Pirates academy product will see this as a setback as he was starting to pick up form, having ended his goal drought against Luton Town last Saturday. It was his first league goal since August 2024 and his first since scoring against Reading in the FA Cup in January this year.

Foster has scored three goals and provided four assists in 26 appearances in all competitions this season. 

Meanwhile, Burnley is in third place in the playoffs with 75 points—two behind log leaders Sheffield United and one shy of second-placed Leeds United, who play Millwall on Wednesday. 

It remains to be seen whether the 24-year-old center-forward will make Hugo Broos’ final squad for the crucial upcoming qualifiers as he was named in the preliminary squad. 

The Belgian mentor will announce his squad on Thursday. 

Bafana Bafana will host Lesotho at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on Friday, 21 March, before jetting off to Ivory Coast where they will face Gernot Rohr’s stubborn Benin side at Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny four days later.

Broos’ charges are in contention to seal qualification to the global showpiece. But South Africa is in second place, level on seven points with table-toppers Rwanda and third-placed Benin, while Lesotho, Nigeria and Zimbabwe round up the bottom three teams in the group respectively.