Werder Bremen Head of Professional Football, Peter Niemeyer, has explained why the club decided to bring Nigerian striker Victor Boniface back into the squad following his recovery from a long-term knee injury.
The Nigerian international joined Werder Bremen on loan from Bayer Leverkusen during the 2025 summer transfer window in a move that was expected to strengthen the club’s attacking options for the season.
However, Boniface endured a difficult spell at the Weserstadion, struggling to establish himself in the team.
The Super Eagles forward managed just two assists in 11 Bundesliga appearances before his campaign was disrupted by injury.
The former Union Saint-Gilloise striker suffered another knee injury in December 2025, ruling him out for approximately four months.
The injury setback forced Boniface to miss 17 Bundesliga matches, including fixtures against Hoffenheim, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Freiburg, Bayern Munich, St. Pauli, Heidenheim, Union Berlin, Mainz, Wolfsburg, Leipzig, 1. FC Köln, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Augsburg, Borussia Dortmund, Frankfurt, and Bayer Leverkusen.
Despite concerns surrounding his fitness and match sharpness, Werder Bremen opted to reintegrate the Nigerian striker into the squad during the closing stages of the season as the club battled to secure Bundesliga survival.
Speaking in an interview with DeichStube, Niemeyer explained that the club’s decision was primarily to improve squad depth rather than place pressure on Boniface to immediately deliver results.
"We tried to put things into perspective at the time, to understand why we were bringing him back and how we wanted to approach the whole thing,” Niemeyer explained.
“We didn't know what might happen in the final stages of the season. We deliberately didn't raise expectations too high. It was more about having an additional option in case of emergency."
Although Boniface successfully returned from injury before the end of the campaign, he did not make another appearance for Werder Bremen as the club eventually secured their Bundesliga status.
Adeyemi Adewale
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