Bundesliga
Boniface to miss Champions League clash with Brest
Victor Boniface will miss out on Bayer Leverkusen's UEFA Champions League match against Brest (kick-off: 9.00pm CEST, Wednesday) following his involvement in a car crash on Sunday evening.
Boniface was a passenger in a taxi that was involved in a collision on Sunday, the day after Leverkusen's 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt. The Nigeria international was the passenger, with the vehicle driven by a 28-year-old male, Hessen police have confirmed.
Now, Leverkusen have confirmed that Boniface will not feature in France as a result. Head coach Xabi Alonso has indicated that Boniface’s absence is due to the club erring on the side of caution, noting that the shock from the incident is more significant than the injuries he sustained.
Alonso told reporters: "It’s a purely precautionary measure. He’s doing well physically but we want to rest him. Following the accident it’s primarily about Victor Boniface as a person and not as a player. It was a serious matter and a shock for the two of them and us all. They were lucky. Things like that can happen to anybody at any time. We’ll see how he is when we get back."
Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes added, "He is doing better. A situation like this is not easy and there is no question that you have to digest it a bit. Of course, we are all very happy that nothing really happened to him. This was not a small accident. Fortunately, it was not serious."
Even with an otherwise full squad to choose from, the loss of Boniface could be a big one for Leverkusen, having scored seven goals in ten games across all competitions this season. Czech striker Patrik Schick is expected to take his place as the Werkself look to make it three wins from three in Europe's premier club competition this term.