Injured Boniface to miss AFCON

Super Eagles of Nigeria striker, Victor Boniface, is set to miss the African Cup of Nations AFCON 2023 tournament that will begin in Ivory Coast this weekend due to injury.

The lanky forward’s suspected groin injury picked up in training at the Abu Dhabi camp of the Super Eagles is worse than earlier feared and the striker might miss up to six weeks of action, according to reports.

The 23-year-old striker subsequently missed the team’s last two friendly matches, including the 2-0 loss to Guinea on Monday, and a 12-0 win over local side Al Gharib.

Boniface has gone on to reveal he is set to miss the AFCON tourney proper with a goodwill message to his colleagues on his Instagram page.

“Good luck guys….. Wish you guys all the best at afcon ❤️❤️ @ng_supereagles 💔,” the Bayer Leverkusen striker posted on Instagram.

Boniface’s injury is the latest in recent knocks for Eagles’ players, with Wilfred Ndidi suffering same fate recently. Kelechi Iheanacho’s participation is still doubtful as the forward is still recovering from injury, while Taiwo Awoniyi is also ruled out.

Nigeria is in Group A with hosts Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea.

The Super Eagles will face Equatorial Guinea in their first match on Sunday.