Nigerian striker Victor Boniface will miss the African Cup of Nations and will undergo surgery for an adductor injury suffered during preparation for the tournament, his club, Bayer Leverkusen, announced on Tuesday.
The Bundesliga club announced that the injury would keep the striker out of action for at least three months after he missed Nigeria’s final warm-up friendly against Guinea on Monday.
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“Victor Boniface is ruled out of the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations and is also not available for the club,” Leverkusen said in a statement.
“Boniface suffered a muscle tendon injury in the right adductor area at the training camp in Dubai. This is the result of today’s scan in Cologne. Boniface will undergo surgery in the coming days. The striker is expected to return to the squad at the beginning of April.”
The Bundesliga will resume on Friday after the international break.
“Good luck guys. I wish you all @ng_supereagles,” Boniface wrote on his Instagram account.
He is the top scorer for Bundesliga leaders Leverkusen with 10 goals in 16 league games this season.
Boniface made his debut in October and has since won four more international caps.
His injury comes on top of the recent withdrawal of Nigerian midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, who was injured in Leicester City’s 2-0 win over Cardiff City on Dec. 29.
Indi’s Leicester teammate Kelechi Iheanacho is also suffering from injury and the striker is still being evaluated at Nigeria’s education camp in the hope that he will be compatible for the tournament, which starts on Saturday and ends on February 11.
Nigeria open their Nations Cup campaign on Sunday with a Group A match against Equatorial Guinea before facing hosts Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau.