Victor Boniface faces spell on sidelines after returning to club duty with injury

Super Eagles and Bayer 04 Leverkusen striker, Victor Okoh Boniface, has returned to his club side with an injury after completing his international duty with Nigeria, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 23-year-old featured in both of Nigeria’s games in the just-concluded International break, in the loss against Rwanda and the draw against the Republic of Benin.

According to Buli News, Boniface has returned to Germany, but he missed the team’s training yesterday. The report claims the former Union Saint-Gilloise forward injured his thigh during the international break and could potentially spend a huge while on the sidelines, ranging from weeks to three months.

Die Werkself are yet to put out an official statement about the injury situation of the 2023/2024 Bundesliga rookie of the year award winner, but it is highly anticipated that Xabi Alonso will touch on the topic in his pre-game conference ahead of their clash at home against FC Heidenheim.

Should Boniface miss the game against Heidenheim, Czech striker, Patrik Schick, will be called into the starting lineup to replace the Nigerian who has scored six goals and provided one assist in ten Bundesliga games this season.

The 6ft3in forward picked up an adductor injury in his right thigh earlier this year, which saw him miss Nigeria’s AFCON 2023 campaign, and a huge chunk of the crucial parts of Leverkusen’s season, but he returned in the nick of time to guide Xabi Alonso’s team to an unbeaten league title triumph.

The club will be hoping his injury is not a recurrence.