A week ago, striker Victor Boniface was checked by a doctor at AC Milan – it was not enough. However, he existed Werder’s medical check on Monday. What was that?
Before a new player is hired in professional football, one thing is always part of the mandatory program: the medical check. All players from the first to the third division have to complete it. But what exactly hides behind it? And how important is the result in the transfer decision?
On Monday, Leverkusen’s striker Victor Boniface was checked by the Werder team. This gave his okay and managing director Clemens Fritz chose the loan. A week earlier, Boniface had already completed a medical check at the Italian top club AC Milan-but he failed there, the change did not come about.
Testing from DOSB and DFL determined
Werder’s new striker Victor Boniface arrived at the Weser Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.
So Werder overlooked something? Or do the tests in Italy differ from those in Germany? Neither nor. In its regulations, the German Olympic Sports Association (DOSB) determines how a medical check has to work at a club. The German Football League (DFL) also writes in its license order under paragraph 2.4, “that the sports suitability of the players must be demonstrated according to a prescribed medical examination. This must be done annually at the beginning of a new game year and in the event of a transfer”.
The tests therefore run according to the same criteria, the players are examined from head to toe. On the one hand in the internal area with blood pressure measurements, blood loss, tests of the function of the internal organs, especially heart and kidneys, up to the maximum body load on the ergometer. This is followed by the orthopedic examination, football -specific with the special focus on bones, muscles, ligaments and joints. The vaccination pass is also checked.
Boniface with thick medical records
The injury history of a player plays an important role in the examination. Here the doctor checks the extent to which old damage healed and estimates how likely future injuries are in this area. In the case of Boniface, the medical record for a 24-year-old is already relatively thick. The striker already had two cruciate ligament tears and thus two operations on the knee.
According to the injury history, the doctor in Milan came to the conclusion that the risk of a new failure was given and had therefore advised the club manager from the transfer. The Werder team attended the same medical record, and he will certainly recognize the risk that the old injuries bring.
All one question of interpretation
The difference is: Werder does not have the choice like the AC Milan due to the financially tense situation. The Bremeners therefore decidedly decided – but also without too much alternative options – to take the risk with Boniface.
A medical check is therefore not a test in which you always exist or fall through according to certain criteria. Rather, the result is interpreted by the team doctor and the association. It is a weighing up of risk and benefits. And Werder hopes that the benefits will be bigger at Boniface.
We know about the problem and have gained an extensive picture of him. He knows his body very well and knows how to deal with it.
(Werder managing director Clemens Fritz via Victor Boniface)
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Sportblitz, September 1, 2025, 6:06 p.m.
