Leverkusen football teacher Xabi Alonso is hoping for a comeback from Victor Boniface. Almost a week after the attacker was involved in a traffic accident, Alonso believes he is making progress. “If it’s possible and he feels better, he’ll come to Bremen. We’ll decide that after the final training,” said the successful coach before the defending champions’ game at Werder Bremen on Saturday (6.30 p.m./Sky).
In the Champions League duel last Wednesday at Stade Brest (1-1), Alonso did without his attacker Boniface and described it as a “pure precautionary measure”.
A lot will depend on how quickly the Leverkusen team recovers after the game in Brest and copes with Amine Adli’s long absence. The 24-year-old Moroccan international broke his left fibula in Brest. “This is of course a great loss. We will miss Amine. He is a very important player and always has a big influence. I hope we can win the game for him,” said Alonso.
Alonso warns against Werder
Almost a week after the hard-fought 2-1 win over rivals Eintracht Frankfurt, the coach of the current fourth-place team is hoping for another sense of success in the league: “The Bundesliga is the most important competition for us. We want to take the next step in this block after the game against Frankfurt.”
The latest record against Werder encourages the Leverkusen team: in the last five games on the Weser, Leverkusen recorded 13 of the 15 possible points. Nevertheless, Alonso swore his team would face a difficult task in Bremen: “Bremen has a lot of intelligent players and a good team. We have to be ready and bring our game to the pitch.”
