Victor Boniface from Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen will miss the Africa Cup due to an injury and will be out until the end of March.
Boniface suffered a muscle and tendon injury in his right adductor area during the Nigerians’ training camp in Dubai. This was the result of an MRI examination on Tuesday morning (January 9, 2024) in Cologne, the club announced. The 23-year-old will undergo surgery in the coming days. The goalscorer is expected to be able to return to the Bayer 04 squad at the beginning of April.
After Nigerian media had already reported on the striker’s injury, Boniface confirmed his absence from the Africa Cup on Instagram on Monday evening (January 8, 2024). There he wished his teammates on the Nigerian national team good luck for the Africa Cup and added a broken heart. He had previously missed the friendly against Guinea.
Tella will not be nominated again
Nathan Tella, also under contract with Bayer 04, was considered a potential replacement for Boniface in the Nigerian national team. However, the 24-year-old was not nominated by national coach Jose Peseiro. Instead, the Super Eagles called up center forward Terem Moffi from French first division club OGC Nice on Tuesday.
Tella was in Nigeria’s preliminary squad, but did not make it into the final squad.
