Nigerian forward Victor Boniface is set to urdergo a surgery on his right adductor area after being ruled out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast with injury, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Bayer Leverkusen striker suffered a groin issue in training took to social media platform, X, on Monday to lament a second major tournament miss due to injury.
“U20 Nations Cup, got injured seven days before nations cup. Super eagles got injured six days before Nations cup. Na Only GOD Knows why,” he wrote.
The 23-year-old was sidelined for the country’s warm-up game against Saudi side, Al Gharib, which they won 12-0 and also missed the 2-0 loss to Guinea on Monday.
“Good luck guys. Wish you guys all the best at afcon @ng_supereagles,” Boniface wrote on his Instagram account on Tuesday commenting on a Super Eagles post.
Boniface is Leverkusen’s top scorer, netting 16 goals across all competitions this season. He made his international debut in October 2023 and has since earned four more caps.
Leverkusen have confirmed on X that Boniface will be sidelined till April and he will undergo surgery.
“Victor Boniface suffered a muscle-tendon injury in the right adductor area during the Nigerian training camp in Dubai. The striker will undergo surgery in the coming days and is expected to be out of action until early April. We wish you a speedy recovery, Victor!” the club wrote.
In a statement issued by Babafemi Raji, the team’s media officer, OGC Nice striker, Terem Moffi will now replace Boniface in the Super Eagles squad.
“Victor Boniface is out and Terem Moffi is in his place, pending approval of CAF and concurrence of his club,” Raji wrote.
The 24-year-old Moffi, who has scored six goals in Ligue 1 this season, was a surprise omission when Nigeria named its squad last month, after he had featured in two previous international outings in November.
Boniface’s injury comes on top of the recent withdrawal of Nigeria midfielder Wilfred Ndidi who was injured in Leicester City’s 2-0 win at Cardiff City on December 29.
On January 3, Alhassan Yusuf was named as Ndidi’s replacement. Ndidi’s Leicester team mate Kelechi Iheanacho was also an injury doubt but coach Jose Peseiro has confirmed that he has finished his recovery.
“Kelechi is in Ivory Coast since he has finished his recovery in Leicester,” Peseiro said after the loss to Guinea on Monday.
Nigeria open their Cup of Nations campaign with a Group A game against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday before meeting hosts Ivory Coast and then Guinea Bissau.
