Moffi to Join Eagles in Côte d’Ivoire as Boniface Undergoes Surgery

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has approved the replacement of injured Bayer Leverkusen striker, Victor Boniface, who  has been ruled out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with OGC Nice striker, Terem Moffi.

Super Eagles Media Officer, Babafemi Raji, confirmed the news last night. He however added that Moffi is to join the squad  in Abidjan ahead of Nigeria’s opening Group A clash with Equatorial Guinea on Sunday.

It is not likely Moffi will play the opening match as he’s due to arrive camp same day from France after playing for his club.

Boniface’s  injury is another blow to Nigeria’s preparations to win a fourth AFCON title.

The 23-year-old Boniface who is out of action till April  now joins a growing list of Nigeria players who have been forced to miss AFCON 2023 through injury, including Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi and Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi.

Ndidi’s Leicester team-mate Kelechi Iheanacho, who missed the Super Eagles training camp, is expected to join up with the rest of the squad in Abidjan after he was declared fit for the tournament yesterday.

Boniface has been in good form for his German club with 10 goals and seven assists in the Bundesliga this season, and is in the running to be named the Bundesliga rookie of the month for a fifth consecutive time.

He picked up the injury in Nigeria’s training camp in Abu Dhabi and was absent from the Super Eagles 2-0 friendly loss to Guinea on Monday.

He shared his disappointment with his followers on X, having also previously missed the Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations through injury.

Nigeria will begin their quest for a fourth AFCON title in a Group A game against Equatorial Guinea on 14 January.

The West Africans will also face hosts Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau in the group stage.