Bayer Leverkusen coach, Xabi Alonso, mentioned on Friday that Nigerian forward, Victor Boniface, was close to returning to play and might be back in March.
Boniface got injured in his thigh muscles while getting ready for the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria in January and hasn't played since.
Initially expected to come back in April, Alonso said the 23-year-old might be ready for Leverkusen’s home match against Hoffenheim on March 30.
He mentioned, “He’s not prepared yet, but next week we have a break and we'll use the time to make progress with him.
“Possibly for the Hoffenheim game if everything goes well, but we'll see.
“We need to be a bit more patient but he’s close to returning to the pitch.”
After joining from Union Saint-Gilloise in the summer, Boniface has had a great start in Leverkusen, scoring 16 goals and providing eight assists in 23 matches in all competitions.
Boniface was selected for the Nigeria squad for the first time this season but missed their run to the final of the African Cup of Nations, where they were defeated by Ivory Coast.
Leverkusen are in a good position to win their first German top-tier title, sitting 10 points ahead of Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga with nine games remaining.
Alonso’s team secured a spot in the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday, where they will play against West Ham, and have also reached the semi-finals of the German Cup, hosting second-division Fortuna Duesseldorf.
PUNCH Online reported that the Super Eagles forward was ruled out of the African Cup of Nations which started on January 16 in Cote ‘d’ Voire after suffering a groin injury. https://punchng.com/injury-rules-out-boniface-from-afcon/
And just on Thursday, former Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro, believed that the absence of Victor Boniface from Nigeria’s AFCON squad caused the team to lose the title to the host nation. https://punchng.com/boniface-absence-cost-eagles-afcon-title-peseiro/
