These are trying times for Super Eagles forward Victor Boniface. The Bayer Leverkusen star has been dogged by injuries in recent seasons, and when he thought of a new beginning with AC Milan in the current transfer window, the old wounds came up to stunt his dream.
 
The striker, who was Bayer Leverkusen’s top striker in their Bundesliga-winning 2023/24 season, last week failed his medicals at AC Milan. Prompting the former Italian champions to call off the loan with an option to buy deal.
 
Speaking about his failed move in a podcast, Boniface said that his injuries have been so hard on him that at one point, he contemplated quitting the game.
 
He said: “At a certain point, I gave up. When others were playing football, I was just working to get back into it. After my second anterior cruciate ligament injury, I didn’t even want to play anymore because of the pain from the first and what I went through with the second.
 
“During that time, I also lost my mother. The AC Milan transfer didn’t work out because of my past injuries. I’ve had two right knee injuries, and it’s something I’ve been dealing with for a long time.”
 
Boniface is expected to return to Leverkusen with the AC Milan deal, with the German side ready to offer a therapy session with a view to reintegrating him into the side.
 
Leverkusen’s Sporting Director, Simon Rolfes, told German outlet BILD: “If Boniface comes back to Leverkusen, the AC Milan deal will be over. That’s no big secret.
 
“Renegotiating the deal? I don’t think that will happen. His (Boniface’s) physical situation has improved compared to the beginning. Boni has now behaved sensibly. This is by no means a problem, but he has to go into physical recovery now so that he is at 100 per cent.”
 
The botched AC Milan deal is the second time the Nigerian will fail in his bid to leave Leverkusen this year. In January, he was linked with a move to Al Nasr and even passed their medicals, but the Saudi club opted for Aston Villa star John Duran instead.