AFCON 2023: Injured Victor Boniface Gets Replacement in Super Eagles Squad for Ivory Coast

• A veteran has been called up to join the Super Eagles AFCON squad
• An OGC Nice forward will replace injured Victor Boniface in the side
• Boniface has been sidelined from the tournament with a groin injury

Nigeria has called up OGC Nice forward, Terem Moffi, to take the place of injured Bayer Leverkusen superstar, Victor Boniface, in the Super Eagles Africa Cup of Nations squad.

The 24-year-old was a surprise omission from Jose Peseiro’s final 25-man squad, with Victor Osimhen, Kelechi Iheanacho, Boniface, and Sadiq Umar picked ahead of him.

According to All Nigeria Soccer, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will now await the approval of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to register Moffi for the AFCON.

The football body has also underlined that the former Lorient forward has to get the green light from OGC Nice before reporting for international duty with the Super Eagles.

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Moffi made his international debut for Nigeria in a friendly against Cameroon in June 2021 and has gone on to make a further 13 appearances for the Super Eagles, scoring four goals.

Boniface to fly back to Germany

Meanwhile, Boniface will now fly back to Germany to begin treatment for the injury which has ruled him out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, Complete Sports reports.

The Bayer Leverkusen forward withdrew from Nigeria's AFCON 2023 team due to a groin issue that might keep him out for at least a month or six weeks, depending on the seriousness of the injury.

Boniface will be a big miss for the Super Eagles as the 22-year-old forward is currently one of the team’s in-form players heading to the tournament, before the latest injury setback.

Boniface disappointed at missing AFCON

Sports Brief previously reported Victor Boniface has expressed disappointment after picking up an injury that has resulted in him pulling out of AFCON 2023.

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The 23-year-old is expected to be on the sidelines for around six weeks due to the setback and will immediately return to Germany to begin his recovery.

Boniface's absence will be a huge blow for the Super Eagles heading into AFCON, considering his impressive run of form in the Bundesliga for Leverkusen.