Super Eagles striker Victor Boniface has opened up on his struggles with injury after AC Milan backed out of a deal to acquire his services over concerns about his fitness history, Footynaija.com reports.
Boniface was on the verge of making a summer switch from the German Bundesliga to the Italian Serie A after AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen found common ground over the conditions for a loan transfer with an option to buy permanently next summer.
However, the move suffered complications when the Rossoneri subjected Boniface to a lengthy and rigorous series of medical examinations. After concluding the examinations, Milan decided to back out of the deal.
Following the collapse of his highly anticipated move to Serie A, the Super Eagles star has now explained that his injury history was responsible for Milan’s decision. He also opened up on how difficult it was for him to bounce back from those injuries.
“AC Milan? The 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 said, as revealed by Alfredo Pedulla.
“At a certain point, I gave up. When others were playing football, I was just working to get back into it. After my second ACL 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 collapse of his move to AC Milan comes as a huge blow for Boniface, who appears to have no place in the plans of new Bayer Leverkusen head coach Erik ten Hag.
This is the second case of the Nigeria international’s departure from Leverkusen collapsing this year after Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr also abandoned plans to sign him at the last minute back in January.