Bayer Leverkusen forward Victor Boniface has said he’s not worried about his lack of starts since returning from an abductor injury.
The Nigeria international spent three months on the sidelines and only returned from injury at the start of April when he came on as a substitute in Leverkusen’s German Cup semi-final victory against Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Boniface has since played two more matches for Xavi Alonso’s side, none of which have been starts, despite the Leverkusen manager confirming that the striker was now in good shape to participate in games from the onset.
The 23-year-old, however, made a case for a starting berth when he came off the bench to score in the club’s 2-0 victory against West Ham United in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals last Thursday.
Boniface not bothered by currently being a substitute at Leverkusen
Boniface replaced Patrik Schick after 76 minutes and made his time on the pitch count by stretching West Ham’s defence, before scoring from a header in added time to wrap up what was a convincing win.
Having started each of Leverkusen’s last three matches from the bench, it’s beginning to look like his long injury layoff has left him behind Schick in the pecking order. The Czech Republic forward was Alonso’s go-to man for the number nine role when Boniface was unavailable and he filled that void perfectly.
Although Schick is not as industrious and versatile as Boniface, he chipped in with important goals in the Nigerian’s absence and currently boasts 11 goals in all competitions. While Boniface is aware that Schick’s form could keep him out of the team for a longer period, the 23-year-old said he’s not bothered by his lack of starts.
Speaking in the aftermath of Leverkusen’s victory over West Ham, the Super Eagles forward noted that he was only focused on helping his team, irrespective of how many minutes he plays, and is just happy to be back on the pitch.
“I feel happy, you know. It’s not easy after three months of injury. I missed a lot of games, so coming back, I just try to help my team, so I’m really happy,” Boniface told journalist Oma Akatugba.
“I’m looking forward to helping my team anytime I’m called upon. Now we have a game on Sunday, which is a very big game for us, so I’m looking forward to that also. I feel good, I feel happy. I’m happy to be back playing football again.”
Alonso highlights impact of Boniface, other substitutes against West Ham
Meanwhile, Alonso was also full of praise for his substitutes for changing the face of the game when they were introduced against the Hammers.
For close to 80 minutes, Leverkusen struggled to get behind the low block by David Moyes’ side, who sat back and defended resolutely in the hope of taking a draw back to East London.
However, Alonso made four changes and two of the substitutes, Jonas Hofmann and Boniface, ended up scoring the goals that handed Die Werkself a late victory against the Premier League side. The Spaniard, therefore, reserved praise for Boniface and the other substitutes for their impactful cameos.
“We are happy with the result and the performance. It was not an easy game to create chances in. They played very deep. We waited for our moment, it was a little late but the players from the bench had a big impact tonight,” Alonso said, as quoted by Complete Sports.
Boniface has now taken his tally for the season to 17 goals and nine assists despite missing three months of the campaign. The Nigerian could also be crowned a Bundesliga champion this week depending on the results of the matches involving Bayern Munich and Leverkusen, which will be played 24 hours apart.
