Xabi Alonso, the manager of Bayer Leverkusen, has confirmed that Victor Boniface will miss the Bundesliga match against SC Freiburg on December 21, 2024, due to a muscle injury.

Despite returning to full team training this week, Boniface has not fully recovered in time for the match.

The injury was sustained while Boniface was on international duty with the Super Eagles during a match against Rwanda last month.

This season, Boniface has made a significant impact, scoring eight goals in 15 appearances across all competitions for Bayer Leverkusen.

Interestingly, Boniface faced Freiburg in the first leg at BayArena last season but missed the second leg due to injury and has yet to score against them in the Bundesliga.

Adding to Leverkusen's injury woes, offensive talent Justin Diehl has also suffered a new muscle injury in training, ruling him out for an extended period.

Furthermore, captain Atakan Karazor is likely to miss the match due to illness, compounding the team's challenges.

Alonso has expressed concerns over the impact of these injuries on the team's performance ahead of the home match.

Boniface's last Bundesliga appearance was on November 4, 2024, in a 1-1 draw against VfL Bochum, marking the end of his participation for the year.

Although there was some optimism about his recovery, Alonso has ruled out Boniface's participation, indicating he may return for Leverkusen's first league game in January 2025.

Despite his injury setbacks, Boniface has had an outstanding year with Leverkusen, winning the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal in May 2024.

In addition to Boniface, teammates Amine Adil and Jonas Hoffmann are also unavailable for the match due to injuries.