It does help that Bosz had all his players available again with the exception of long-term injuries Joel Pohjanpalo (rehab training after ankle injury) and Panos Retsos (rehab after muscle tendon injury to thigh) after Charles Aránguiz and Leon Bailey missed the first training session on Friday. The duo rejoined their team-mates on the training ground for the Sunday morning session.
While the 28-year-old Chilean only had his first session under the new head coach on Sunday due to private reasons, Bailey did train with the squad on Saturday after the Jamaican sat out the full training session on Friday. According to Bosz, the 21-year-old was feeling the effects of a long flight and suffering somewhat from the air conditioning. Therefore the decision was to take the precaution of Bailey returning to full training a day later.
The main focus for Bosz in the first few days is the improvement of fitness levels. "We've been working on stamina – albeit with the ball," said the Dutchman on Sunday. Using the ball is always important for him. Of equal significance for the 55 year-old: when the session on the training ground begins at 10.30 CET and it starts with 'football training': positional play, passing drills, tactical work etc. The warm-up routine is down to the players themselves – but obviously with the help of the fitness coaches. Either in the facilities at the BayArena or on the training ground.
One player completed his Sunday training in the gym. Karim Bellarabi had a slight problem with his back and had to work on his own. The 28 year-old should rejoin the rest of the Werkself squad on the training ground on Monday (14.30 CET).
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Show moreNiklas Lomb has been at Bayer 04 for 16 years, joining at U17 level in 2008, and is now able to call himself a Bundesliga champion. After a few loan spells, the goalkeeper is a fixture of the Werkself first team and an “important part of our ambitious team”, according to Simon Rolfes. It’s been an emotional few days for the 30-year-old, who signed a contract extension through to 2027 earlier this month as well.
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