Victor Boniface made his first Bayer Leverkusen appearance of 2024 but speaking ahead of the club’s tie against Union Berlin, Xabi Alonso confirmed that the Nigerian forward won’t start on Saturday.
“His outing against Düsseldorf was good for him, but he won’t be able to start yet. We want to help him bit by bit to get that good feeling on the pitch again,” said Alonso.
After a three month absence due to an adductor injury, which resulted in Boniface missing the Africa Cup of Nations, the 23-year-old was introduced in the 65th minute on Wednesday evening and showcased in glimpses just what he can bring to this Leverkusen squad.
Prior to his injury, Boniface scored 16 and created nine in 24 games across all competitions for Die Werkself and alongside Patrik Schick, Borja Iglesias and Adam Hlozek, the quartet will be an important part of Alonso’s side heading into the closing stages of the season.
With just seven Bundesliga games remaining, Leverkusen need just three wins to secure their first ever Meisterschale, which now seems inevitable as they sit 13 points clear of Bayern Munich. Not only that, the treble is on. They face 2. Bundesliga side Kaiserslautern at the Olympiastadion in the Pokal final next month, while a quarter-final clash against West Ham in the Europa League beckons.
