Victor Boniface injury: How long will Nigeria and Bayer Leverkusen star be out & which games will he miss?

Soccernet rounds up what you need to know about how long the Germany-based star will be out, and when he could make his return

Nigeria’s ambition of winning a fourth Africa Cup of Nations diadem suffered a huge setback with Victor Boniface ruled out of the competition billed for Cote d’Ivoire.

The red-hot striker joins Nottingham Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi and Leicester City’s Wilfred Ndidi in a list of Super Eagles who will miss the showpiece through injury.

Meanwhile, Nice man Terem Moffi has been called up as his replacement.

https://twitter.com/NGSuperEagles/status/1744832429263655183

Soccernet has what you need to know about how long Boniface could be out and which games he is set to miss.

Why is Boniface injured?

Victor Boniface was injured while preparing for the biennial African football showpiece with the Super Eagles in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

And after a series of scans, it was discovered that the striker suffered a muscle tendon injury.

ℹ️ Victor Boniface suffered a muscle-tendon injury in the right adductor area during the Nigerian training camp in Dubai.

The striker will undergo surgery in the coming days and is expected to be out of action until early April.

We wish you a speedy recovery, @boniface_jrn… pic.twitter.com/cpcqCSCZsh

— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) January 9, 2024

“Victor Boniface is ruled out of the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations and is also not available for the club,” Bayer Leverkusen confirmed in a statement.

“Boniface suffered a muscle tendon injury in the right adductor area at the training camp in Dubai.”

Prior to this setback, the former Union SG man had been in blistering form – a feat that earned him Bundesliga’s Rookie of the Month award four times in a row.

What has been said?

Boniface expressed his disappointment on social media, narrating how he previously missed the U20 Africa Cup of Nations through injury.

“U20 Nations Cup – got injured 7 days before Nations Cup; Super Eagles – got injured 6 days before Nations Cup. Na only God knows why.”

https://twitter.com/boniface_jrn/status/1744458601496711339

In the same vein, Leverkusen have confirmed that he will undergo surgery in the coming days.

When will Boniface be fit again?

Boniface is out of action for three months and is expected back in April.

Currently, he is Leverkusen's top scorer, accruing 10 goals in 16 outings of the 2023-24 campaign.

How many games will Boniface miss?

The Nigerian is expected to miss at least 18 matches for club and country. These are stated below:

January 14 – Nigeria vs Equatorial Guinea – Afcon
January 18 – Nigeria vs Cote d’Ivoire – Afcon
January 20 – RB Leipzig vs Leverkusen – Bundesliga
January 22 – Guinea Bissau vs Nigeria  – Afcon
January 27 – Leverkusen vs Monchengladbach – Bundesliga
February 3 – Darmstadt vs Leverkusen – Bundesliga
February 6 – Leverkusen vs Stuttgart – DFP Pokal
February 10 – Leverkusen vs Bayern Munich – Bundesliga
February 17 – Heidenheim – Leverkusen – Bundesliga
February 23 – Leverkusen vs Mainz – Bundesliga
March 3 – Cologne vs Leverkusen – Bundesliga
March 10 – Leverkusen vs Wolfsburg  – Bundesliga
March 17 – Freiburg vs Leverkusen – Bundesliga
March 30 – Leverkusen vs Hoffenheim – Bundesliga
April 5 – Union Berlin vs Leverkusen – Bundesliga
April 12 – Leverkusen vs Werder Bremen – Bundesliga
April 19 – Dortmund vs Leverkusen – Bundesliga
April 26 – Leverkusen – Stuttgart – Bundesliga