After the squad trained on Monday afternoon, performance tests were on the agenda on Tuesday. It could be that a number of players were thinking of Thursday's friendly against MSV Duisburg. The game against the second division side is of increased relevance to Werkself players who have not played much recently according to head coach Heiko Herrlich.
For example that applies to Tin Jedvaj: The 21-year-old suffered a hairline shin fracture in training at the beginning of July. Even though the defender has been back in full training for several days he is still not up to speed with his team-mates due to missing the pre-season. "Tin is on the right track," said Herrlich who indicated the defender is likely to start against the Zebras.
Praise for Kiessling
Stefan Kießling will also be in the starting eleven on Thursday. In addition, "he should decide for himself how long he's on the pitch," declared Herrlich. "Stefan has trained well. Above all, his way of motivating and involving younger players impresses me." Herrlich made it clear that the situation for the club legend is not easy and that makes his exemplary performances in training even more impressive.
In addition to Jedvaj and Kießling, players like Vladlen Yurchenko, André Ramalho and Marlon Frey should also get time on the pitch. That gives them the opportunity to stake a claim for further appearances. In this respect, Heiko Herrlich places great value on a "winning mentality." He identified that in the last friendly against Fortuna Köln (4-0) but it was absent for most of the 2-1 defeat against VFL Bochum at the end of August as in other pre-season games. "I want to win every game. And the players should see it the same way," explained the Bayer 04 head coach.
Setback for Henrichs
Jonathan Tah (back problems) and Benjamin Henrichs will not be playing on Thursday. There were hopes at the weekend that the full-back would recover from his illness over the course of the week and then join the Germany U21 squad but the situation has now taken a turn for the worse. The 20-year-old is still struggling with a nasal infection and the doctors have banned him from any sporting activity until the end of the week. Heiko Herrlich is not expecting either of the players to return before the middle of next week.
The long-standing successful collaboration between Bayer 04 and the transport service provider wupsi GmbH has been expanded: From January 2026, 100 wupsi bikes with Bayer 04 branding will be available for hire throughout the city of Leverkusen. They will complement the many existing offers and services that provide key support, especially for fans travelling to and from home matches at the BayArena.
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The Werkself are back! Following the two-week winter break, head coach Kasper Hjulmand's team began the new year with an open session on Sunday. After Robert Andrich and his teammates arrived in Leverkusen yesterday for the official check-in, they got back down to business a day later in front of around 1,200 fans at the Ulrich Haberland Stadion. The report from the Werkself's first session of 2026.
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In her debut season of 2024/25, Cornelia Kramer immediately became the top scorer for Bayer 04 Women. However, the Danish national team striker was stopped by an injury at the start of the new season. Now, just in time before the end of last year, she is fit again – and has extended her contract early until 2027. In this interview, the 23-year-old talks about the reasons for her decision and looks ahead.
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After a two-week winter break, the Werkself resume training on Sunday, 4 January. The first session in 2026 at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium starts at 11:00 and is open to fans. Bayer 04 look forward to welcoming supporters at the start of 2026. The Werkself schedule for the new year.
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