
There was bad news in the morning session. Jedvaj held onto his left thigh after a sprinting drill just before the end of training and he left the pitch for the dressing room with a concerned look on his face. An MRI scan in the afternoon revealed the 22-year-old Croat had pulled a muscle and that may rule him out of the top game of matchday 26 against Gladbach. "It's annoying for Tin and it puts him and us back a bit. He's very flexible and can play as a central defender or full back and he's done both very well recently. But you can't do anything about it," said a clearly concerned Herrlich. How long the Bayer 04 head coach will have to manage without Jedvaj remains to be seen.
Both Charles Aránguiz (knee) and Sven Bender, who was substituted at half-time in the 2-1 win at Wolfsburg due to a back problem, have not trained with the squad this week. The duo worked on their own on Monday and Tuesday. "I'm very optimistic that Sven and Charly were able to play on Saturday. We want to take care of them and avoid taking any risks," said Herrlich in describing a "purely preventative measure."The same goes for the skipper Lars Bender and Wendell (private reasons) and they did not join in with the morning session on Tuesday.They did return to full training in the afternoon.

Fans at the BayArena got to enjoy a spectacle on Wednesday as the Werkself came from behind to beat Nürnberg 5-2 in the DFB Pokal. Now with the sixth home game of the season, can Bayer 04 maintain their perfect record in Leverkusen as VfB Stuttgart come to town in the Bundesliga on Saturday (15:30 CET)? The visitors have had issues domestically this term, sitting in 15th place, although they have had much better results in the UEFA Champions League. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the Matchday 8 encounter…
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Three days after the spectacular comeback in the DFB Pokal tie against FC Nürnberg (5–2), the Werkself face their next challenge in the Bundesliga. On Saturday, 31 October (kick-off: 15:30 CET), Bayer 04 host VfB Stuttgart, currently 15th in the table, at the BayArena. Ahead of the match, Carles Martínez spoke, amongst other things, about important factors in preparing for this next game given a tight fixture list.
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Despite VfB Stuttgart performing well in the Champions League, they are facing a difficult spell early on in the Bundesliga. Three days after their last-minute victory in the DFB Pokal at SC Paderborn 07, the Swabians can now take to the pitch at the BayArena with greater confidence on Saturday, 31 October (kick-off: 15:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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A special afternoon at the Bayer 04 Football Academy autumn camp: At the Liga 20 indoor football centre, in the shadow of the BayArena, two Werkself women’s team players led a training session. Loreen Bender and Selina Ostermeier not only offered the young players advice and support, but also got stuck in themselves.
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