Alonso confirms Leverkusen's Boniface is injured
Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso has confirmed that Victor Boniface will be sidelined for some time after picking up a thigh injury on international duty with Nigeria.
Boniface, who has scored eight goals in 15 appearances in all competitions this season, was replaced late on in the Super Eagles' 2-1 defeat to Rwanda.
It is another blow for Leverkusen, which has managed 17 points from 10 games so far this season, the worst start to a league campaign in 12 years by a defending Bundesliga champion.
Only Omar Marmoush and Harry Kane (both 11) have scored more goals in the league than Boniface this term (six).
Alonso revealed that the 23-year-old will miss the encounter against Heidenheim and Leverkusen's UEFA Champions League tie against RB Salzburg next week.
"We will have to see how long he will be out. It is a shame," Alonso said.
"He has a thigh injury. For tomorrow, for Salzburg and maybe a bit longer. We will have to wait and see.
"It is too early to say but we hope he can still play this year. We have to see with the recovery and improvement but it is not a matter of six or eight weeks."
Leverkusen has dropped points in six Bundesliga games already this season – drawn five and lost one – as often as it did during the entirety of its 2023-2024 title-winning campaign, when it drew six times.
It comes into this weekend's fixture against Heidenheim on a three-game run of draws in the Bundesliga, the first time it has gone this long without a victory since between April and May 2023.
Leverkusen sits fourth in the Bundesliga, already nine points behind leader Bayern Munich as the busy festive schedule begins.
Alonso's side has eight games in just less than a month, including a DFB-Pokal round of 16 clash with Bayern at the start of December.
"Eight games in four weeks. It is nothing new for us," Alonso said. "An intense phase is coming up for us and it starts tomorrow.
"We have clear goals for the Bundesliga, the [UEFA] Champions League and the German Cup."
