Bayer Leverkusen managing director Simon Rolfes has backed Victor Boniface to return to top form at the end of the season after a tough end to last season, Soccernet.ng reports.
Boniface joined Bayer Leverkusen from Belgian club Royale Union SG for €21.7 million. The Super Eagles star was coming off a strong campaign in Belgium, but moving to Germany was a whole new proposition.
However, Boniface hit the ground running, featuring prominently for Bayer Leverkusen. The Nigerian striker's performance ensured that he won the Rookie of the Month consecutively in the first half of the season.
By the turn of the year, the Nigerian had already produced 16 goals and nine assists for Bayer Leverkusen.
Unfortunately for him, he sustained an injury in January which ruled him out of action for four months. And when he returned, he lost his starting shirt in the team.
After the summer break, the 23-year-old striker has returned to training at Bayer Leverkusen, but there have been doubts about his place on the team.
However, Bayer Leverkusen chief Rolfes has backed the Nigerian striker to return to his best and start to churn out the numbers.
“After such an injury, it is not so easy (for Boniface) to regain that explosiveness in order to be able to fully enter into duels – physically, but also mentally,” Rolfes told Kicker.
“It always takes a little time, also to regain confidence in yourself and your body. He'll be in a completely different state at the start of the season.”
Bayer Leverkusen begin their pre-season campaign on July 27 with a game against RW Essen. Then, they play Lens and Arsenal before playing the Super Cup against Stuttgart on August 17.
