The dire fears have been confirmed. Bayer Leverkusen’s top striker Victor Boniface will be out for a long time after being injured in international play.
Bitter news for the Bundesliga leaders: As Bayer Leverkusen announced on Tuesday afternoon, striker Victor Boniface has suffered a muscle tendon injury in his right adductor area. The 23-year-old will therefore need to undergo surgery in the coming days. This was revealed by an MRI examination in Cologne.
As a result, Boniface will be missing from the Werkself in the coming weeks. He could “probably return to the squad” of the Bundesliga leaders at the beginning of April, the statement said.
Boniface missed a large part of the second half of the season
Boniface will not only miss the Africa Cup, but also a large part of the second half of the Bundesliga. The striker will also be out for Bayer 04 in the Europa League and the DFB Cup quarter-finals (against VfB Stuttgart).
The attacker was injured during a training session for the Nigerian team. He actually wanted to take part in the Africa Cup with the national team.
Boniface had previously wished his team good luck via Instagram for the tournament, which will be held in Ivory Coast from January 13th to February 11th. “Good luck guys. I wish you all the best,” he wrote on Instagram, followed by a broken heart. After the injury, he returned to Germany to be examined more closely.
Boniface moved to Leverkusen from Belgian first division club Union Saint-Gilloise last summer. With ten goals and seven assists, he is Leverkusen’s top scorer in the Bundesliga season so far. Thanks to the Nigerian’s goals, Leverkusen stormed successfully through the first half of the season and is still ahead of FC Bayern at the top of the table.