"I'm assuming he will be able to play tomorrow," said head coach Heiko Herrlich referring to his captain. The same applies to Lukas Hradecky who has served a one-match ban for picking up two yellow cards in the Europa League qualifier on 6 August 2015 when he was playing for Bröndby IF. The 28-year-old shot-stopper and Bayer 04 received the surprise news in the past few days. "We received an e-mail from UEFA last week where they confirmed the suspension has now lapsed and that I can play tomorrow," said Hradecky before departure .
After two and a half hours, around 16.00 local time, the Werkself charter plane landed at the airport in Varna. The squad then travelled on the team bus to their hotel in Rasgrad, which is a ten-minute drive away from the Ludogarets Arena.
This evening brings the usual pre-match press conference and final training session ahead of the Europa League opener against Ludogorets Rasgrad (20 September, 21.00 CET).
New signing Miguel Gutiérrez arrives in Leverkusen having won the Champions League, the Spanish league title and an Olympic gold medal. However, the 25-year-old Spaniard, signed from Napoli, is looking to the future – he wants to write the next chapter of success with the Werkself. Bayer04.de takes a closer look at the skilful, attack-minded left-back, who will wear the number 3 jersey.
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The Werkself's training camp in Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog you'll find all the insights and updates from the day. Day three (Tuesday 4 August) begins with a thorough open session on the pitch. After lunch, some players have media engagements at the team hotel, and then the team come together for a barbecue in the evening.
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Nine matches against teams from nine countries, two penalty shoot-outs won, and encounters that went far beyond football: As with last year, the Inklusionswerkself enjoyed an extraordinary week at the Genuine Cup 2026 in Houston, USA, and made memories that will last a lifetime. This year, the Leverkusen side took part as Germany’s official representatives and, accordingly, took to the pitch in Germany kit. Together with 53 teams from 53 nations, the Black and Reds once again sent a powerful message of inclusion and participation – and also impressed on the pitch by winning their group.
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The Werkself training camp in the Weimarer Land all in one place: in our daily blog, you’ll find all the insights and updates from the day. The programme for day two (Monday, 3 August) centres on two training sessions – one in the morning (open to the public) and one in the early evening (behind closed doors) – at the nearby training grounds. In the afternoon, fans can look forward to a big fan meet-up with club legend Paulo Sergio at Schloss Blankenhain.
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