
Coach Heiko Herrlich was able to welcome back Wendell. The 24-year-old full-back, who has worked on his comeback in individual training over recent days following the ligament injury suffered away to RB Leipzig, took part in full training for the first time – at least for the first part. "We are increasing the workload day by day but the Bremen game is probably too soon for him," said Herrlich who hopes Wendell will be an option for the final game of the season at home to Hannover 96 (12 May). Karim Bellarabi joined the session later after working on his own in the Werkstatt. According to Herrlich, it was purely a precautionary measure.
Jonathan Tah (hip), Joel Pohjanpalo (rehab training after an ankle injury) and Sven Bender (muscular problem) worked in the facilities at the BayArena rather than on the training ground. "With Sven, we'll have to see how his muscle reacts and whether he may be an option for Saturday," explained the 46-year-old after the training session.
Heiko Herrlich will lead training sessions on Thursday (15.30 CET) and Friday (12.00 CET) before the Werkself head off for Bremen. The two sessions will be closed to the public.


Werkself-TV shows the highlights of Bayer 04's 4-0 win at Wehen Wiesbaden in the first round of the DFB-Pokal 2026/27...
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Bayer 04 have comfortably reached the DFB Pokal second round thanks to a 4–0 victory away to Liga 3 side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. Patrik Schick put the Werkself ahead in the first 45 in the first competitive match under head coach Carles Martínez with debuts for new signings Miguel Gutiérrez, Afonso Moreira and Facundo Medina. After the break, Lucas Vázquez (47'), Nathan Tella (69') and Christian Kofane (79') also found the back of the net.
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Today brings the first match of the season for the Werkself. Bayer 04 kick off the 2026/27 campaign today, Saturday 22 August, at 13:00 CEST with a first-round DFB Pokal tie away to third-tier side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. The 3,700 travelling fans can not only look forward to what will hopefully be a successful start to the season, but also now organise their journeys to Black and Reds games even more easily via the WERKSELFgo car-share platform. Meanwhile, following two defeats at the start of the league season, SV Wehen are hoping to spring a surprise in the DFB Pokal tie. Today’s matchday news.
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Carolin Simon is the new captain of the Bayer 04 women’s team. The full-back, who joined from Bayern Munich in the summer, will take over the captain’s armband for the 2026/27 season. Simon returned to Leverkusen in the summer after ten years away. The 33-year-old succeeds goalkeeper Friederike Repohl, who retired at the end of last season.
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