Due to the severity of the injury, an operation is required following the immediate treatment in Columbia. This will be performed by a specialist in Madrid by agreement with Bayer 04, Arias and Atlético. The 28-year-old Arias is expected to fly from Colombia to Spain in the middle of next week.
“This serious injury hits us hard and affects everybody. Santiago is a great character and has joined us with great ambition and it’s a bitter blow for him,” declared sporting director Simon Rolfes. “Like Atlético Madrid, we will do everything we can to support Santiago in his recovery. After the operation and his return to Leverkusen, he will be looked after by us during his rehab. Our medical section and the whole club are behind him so that he can return fully fit as soon as possible.”
“I can’t describe how I feel. I’d be lying if I said I’m doing alright but I don’t want to maintain the opposite. I’m sad about the situation,” Arias said on Instagram on Saturday. “This is another test to overcome and it will make me stronger. I promise to work hard to get back quickly and stronger and be able to wear the colours of Colombia and my club Bayer 04 Leverkusen again.”
From the 2027/28 season, the Women’s Bundesliga will be organised by an independent league association. Following the unanimous decision taken at the DFB Bundestag (national conference) on Friday afternoon, the league’s separation from the DFB is now official.
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Following the Bundesliga clash against RB Leipzig (Sunday, 20 September, 15:30 CEST), some of the Werkself first team players will be heading off for the first international break of the season. Here is an overview of the Bayer 04 players called up for their national teams and all the details of their upcoming matches.
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A special visit to the BayArena: 222 members from volunteer fire brigades in Leverkusen, the Rheinisch-Bergisch district and the Oberbergisch district watched the Werkself’s 2–0 home win over Slovenian champions NK Celje live in the stadium. Bayer 04 had invited them to the 2026/27 Europa League opener as a thank-you for their tremendous dedication. They watched the match together in Block F4.
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The Werkself were feeling quite satisfied following their 2–0 home win in their opening match of the 2026/27 UEFA Europa League, particularly with the result. At the same time, players and coaches agreed that, in terms of their performance, there was “still room for improvement”, as Robert Andrich put it. For his part, Moussa Diaby emphasised the importance of the victory with which the team had kicked off the campaign, and spoke personally about how good it felt to have started in front of the “wonderful” Bayer 04 fans this Tuesday evening for the first time since his return. The Werkself review of the Europa League opener.
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