
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."


The Werkself welcome FC Augsburg to the BayArena on Bundesliga matchday 30 in the 2025/26 season. The match on Saturday, 18 April kicks off at 15:30 CEST. Bayer 04 have organised a family matchday with exclusive offers for parents and children. Information on ticket sales.
Show more
The Werkself host VfL Wolfsburg at the BayArena on matchday 28 in the 2025/26 Bundesliga season. The match is on Saturday, 4 April, with the kick-off at 15:30 CET. Information on ticket sales.
Show more
Carlotta Wamser provided the Leverkusen highlight in the international break with her first goal for Germany. There were also reasons to celebrate for several other international players in recent days. Bayer04.de provides an overview of the women's international fixtures.
Show more
The exact timings for the 2025/26 DFB Pokal semi-finals have been finalised. Bayer 04's home tie against Bayern Munich will be played on Wednesday, 22 April, at 20:45 CEST. This was announced by the German Football Association (DFB) this Monday morning.
Show more