It did not look good at first sight. Karim Bellarabi overstretched his right knee during a session on Saturday (4 August) in Zell am See. He remained on the ground for several minutes and had to receive treatment. Karim wanted to train with the team in the afternoon but the medical section decided to take him out of training for a closer examination.
He underwent an MRI scan. The diagnosis: a slight strain to the anterior cruciate ligament. Following discussions with the doctors, head coach Heiko Herrlich decided to rest Karim for two weeks.
Charles Aranguiz (knee) will also have to wait for a couple of days. The Chilean midfielder has worked well on his own but he will not be able to join in with team training this week.
The same applies to Leon Bailey, who picked up a painful shoulder injury in the friendly against Basaksehir Istanbul. Heiko Herrlich believes the Jamaican will rejoin his team-mates in training next Tuesday. He will not be available for the DFB Cup game at Pforzheim (18 August).
Isaac Kiese Thelin could feature in the friendly against Valencia (11 August). The Swede trained for the first time with his new team-mates on Wednesday and he made a good impression. "He scored five goals with headers," reported Heiko Herrlich. "Of course, he needs time to settle in but we want to take him to Valencia."
A group of about 50 members of the Bayer 04 Football Academy São Paulo visited Leverkusen over the past few days, accompanied by Bayer 04 club legend Paulo Sergio and Luiz Felipe (managing director of academy in São Paulo) for a week full of football, encounters and very special insights. In addition to the Bundesliga away game in Elversberg and the home game against Union Berlin, the visit also featured a joint training session with the Bayer 04 Football Academy in Leverkusen and a tour of the Bayer AG facilities. The guests also gained special insights into the club and the world of Bayer 04.
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The men's clothing retailer LERROS will remain the official fashion and premium partner of Bayer 04 for the current season. As in the past, LERROS will provide the club's men's team, coaching staff and management with high-quality clothing for international trips.
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“Diaby! Diaby! Diaby!” was the cry around the BayArena as the Werkself danced in front of the north stand following their 4-0 win over Union Berlin. Captain Edmond Tapsoba gave his new (and old) teammate a friendly shove forward to take in the acclaim from the fans. The returning Frenchman was typically reserved in thanking the supporters but was clearly emotional about what was happening.
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Werkself TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 4-0 win against Union Berlin on Matchday 2 of the 2026/27 Bundesliga season...
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Bayer 04 have been handed a home tie in the second round of the 2026/27 DFB Pokal after being paired with Nürnberg in Saturday evening’s draw at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. Games will be played on 27/28 October, with the German FA to confirm kick-off times in due course.
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