Boniface rules himself out of Africa Cup of Nations
There was heartbreaking news emanating from the Nigerian national team camp today ahead of the coming Africa Cup of Nations.
After a day laden with speculation, Nigerian striker Victor Boniface delivered of Bayer 04 Leverkusen delivered the sad news to his teammates that he wouldn't be able to partake in the coming tournament.
Star Bundesliga striker Victor Boniface has been ruled out of the coming Africa Cup of Nations. At this juncture, it remains unclear what sort of injury the 23-year-old has suffered. Conflicting Nigerian news reports (from "Score Nigeria" and "Own Goal Nigeria") speak of either a knee injury or a groin injury. Boniface had to skip several squad training sessions and a pre-tournament test-fixture against Guinea on Monday.
After a day laden with speculation, Nigerian striker Victor Boniface delivered of Bayer 04 Leverkusen delivered the sad news to his teammates that he wouldn't be able to partake in the coming tournament.
Irrespective of what injury Boniface incurred, it is assumed that the attacker shall remain out for the duration of the tournament. This is based on the fact that the player himself wished his teammates all the best at the tournament in an instagram post. Boniface employed a broken-heart emoji and wrote "Good luck guys. Wish you all the best at AFCON".
The Nigerian FA has as of yet made no official announcement. The Nigerian news sources report that Boniface will be headed back to Germany to begin rehabilitation. Presumably, if Boniface cannot partake in the entire tournament, the extent of injury should keep him out beyond early February. Leverkusen cannot necessarily count on his services for quite some time.
Nigerian trainer José Peseiro can nominate a replacement up until 24 hours prior to the start of the tournament, which is set to kick off on Friday. Boniface's Bayer teammate Nathan Tella is also eligible to play for the Super Eagles. The 24-year-old earned his first international cap this autumn. Tella has netted two tallies for club thus far this year; once in the Bundesliga and once in the Europa League.