Bayer Leverkusen will be without Super Eagles striker Victor Boniface for the remainder of the year after the Nigeria international suffered a muscle while on international duty with the national team.
Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso confirmed that the striker will not only be unavailable for this weekend’s visit of Heidenheim but is also likely to miss up to six to eight weeks of action which means he’s only likely to return after the Bundesliga winter break in January of 2025.
The striker featured for Nigeria in their 1-1 draw against Benin Republic in their penultimate 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Ivory Coast before featuring for 89 minutes in the country’s 2-1 home loss to Rwanda at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo where he picked up the injury.
Revealing the extent of the injury during a pre-match press conference today, Alonso also confirmed that the striker will be out of action for six to eight weeks but hopes he could return sooner to help the team during this trying period.
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“We hope that he’ll be able to play again this year, but we will have to see how his recovery progresses. But he won’t be out for 6-8 weeks,” Alonso said.
Aside from Boniface, other players Nordi Mukiele, Jeanu Belocian and Amine Adli will also be missing from the game this weekend but will be examined after their Champions League game against RB Salzburg on Tuesday.
“A few games. We will see for how long. He suffered a small injury to his thigh, so we will see. On Tuesday, against Salzburg, we will have to wait, it is too early to say,” Xabi Alonso declared.
The Bayer Leverkusen forward has been an important player for his club, starting 11 games so far this season, and scoring eight goals with one assist. The injury means Patrik Shick will now get more game time, starting as the center forward for the German club.
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