Bayer Leverkusen face more woes with Boniface sidelined for four months

Bayer Leverkusen are four points clear of record champions, Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga table, with Boniface playing a pivotal role in that.

Super Eagles and Bayer 04 Leverkusen striker, Victor Okoh Boniface is set to spend about four months out of football action after picking up an injury with his National Team, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 23-year-old was included in Jose Peseiro’s 25-man AFCON squad list, but had to pull out of the squad after picking up a muscle-tendon injury in his right adductor.

OGC Nice’s Terem Moffi has been drafted into the squad as Boniface’s replacement and will travel to Ivory Coast with the rest of the team.

Boniface’s injury, after initial scan, suggested that the former Union Saint-Gilloise striker will miss six weeks of football action, but according to Bayer Leverkusen’s official website, the 23-year-old will undergo surgery, with his expected return date scheduled to be early April.

This comes as a big blow for Xabi Alonso as his team will be without their top scorer for the crucial stages of the Rückrunde. The Spanish coach is also without four crucial players who are on international duty with their respective countries at the AFCON tournament.

With this news, Boniface will miss Leverkusen’s game against Bayern Munich, alongside their knock-out games in the UEFA Europa league. However if the team win their games, he could be in line to make a quarter-final return, but it is too soon to tell.

Boniface has scored ten goals and created another six in sixteen league starts for Xabi Alonso’s men this season.