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.
Soccernet has what you need to know about how long Boniface could be out and which games he is set to miss.
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.
“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.
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.”
In the same vein, Leverkusen have confirmed that he will undergo surgery in the coming days.
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.
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
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