'Got injured six days before AFCON'- Boniface devastated after pulling out of Nigeria's AFCON squad 

Victor Boniface is understandably devastated after suffering an injury that will see him miss the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. 

The Bayer Levekusen striker was forced to withdraw from the Super Eagles' Africa Cup of Nations roster after suffering a muscle injury during practice in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. 

Boniface's withdrawal has left Jose Peseiro scratching his head before his team's opening game at the AFCON against Equatorial Guinea as the 23-year-old was being groomed to partner Victor Osimhen in attack.

Nottingham Forest's Taiwo Awoniyi is not in the squad due to a groin injury  that required surgery and Leicester City's Kelechi Iheanacho is racing against the clock to be named in the traveling squad to Ivory Coast on Wednesday. 

This is the third time Boniface has suffered a significant injury before a major international tournament. 

In 2019, he had to withdraw from Nigeria's squad to the U20 AFCON after sustaining a knee injury just before the start of the tournament in Niger and few months later, the former Bodo/Glimt forward damaged his cruciate ligament in a pre-season friendly against SK Brann, which saw him miss the World Cup in Poland. 

Boniface took to social media on Monday evening to confirm he's out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. 

Writing on X, he said: "U20 nations cup got injured 7 days before Nations Cup. Super eagles got injured 6 days before Nations Cup. Only God knows why."

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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