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.
Four Bayer 04 players are in action at the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations being played in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January 2026: Eliesse Ben Seghir for the hosts, Edmond Tapsoba with Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Maza for Algeria and Christian Kofane with Cameroon. Updates on the AFCON matches involving Werkself players...
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Due to the last-minute postponement of the Bundesliga match between Hamburg and the Werkself on Tuesday, 13 January, Bayer 04 will reimburse the ticket price to all 3,500 fans who had already travelled to Hamburg as a sign of appreciation. The tickets remain valid for the rescheduled match (date not yet set).
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without centre-back Edmond Tapsoba in the coming weeks. The Burkina Faso international returned to the Werkself from the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco with a muscle injury.
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The Bundesliga fixture between Hamburger SV and Bayer 04 Leverkusen has been postponed at short notice.
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Bayer 04 face Hamburger SV for the first time in almost eight years. Although the Hanseatic city team are often below par on the road, they are regularly in top form in front of their own fans. In particular, 18-year-old shooting star Luka Vuskovic is proving to be a real bonus for Merlin Polzin's team, both in attack and defence. However, that should not scare the Werkself: Not only was the last defeat against the newly promoted team 17 games ago, but Kasper Hjulmand's players are in with a chance of securing their fifth win in six games against HSV. Today’s matchday news.
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