The 75-minute appearance in the 4-1 home win against TSG Hoffenheim was the last in 2020 for Lars Bender. The vice-captain was due to play at right-back in the following away game at FC Köln (4-0) but suffered an injury in the warm-up. The 31-year-old, who is set to hang up his boots in the summer like his brother Sven Bender, has been forced to watch from the sidelines since then.
Lars Bender rejoined his team-mates for the first time on Monday following rehab and individual sessions during the festive season. And left-back Daley Sinkgraven also took part in the first session of the week after recovering from a Covid-19 infection with a period of self-isolation. Hopes are high that the duo will be back in the first team squad for the next home game against Werder Bremen on Saturday 9 January (kick-off: 15.30 CET).
In his four years under the Bayer Cross, Christoph Daum three times led the Werkself to finish runners-up in the Bundesliga. The 67-year-old was at the helm at Leverkusen from 1996 to October 2000 – and he made a lasting impression on the supporters. In the votes for the Bundesliga All-Stars 2019, he gained the most votes from Bayer 04 fans amongst all the coaches.
Daum recently talked about a current and a former player of his former club from Leverkusen in an interview with Sport1. He deemed comparisons between the youngsters Florian Wirtz, who has been at the Werkself for one year, and Kai Havertz (Chelsea) to be misplaced. Daum: "I can't stand hearing it. Wirtz is not a new Havertz. Please let the lad develop and don't immediately make him the new Havertz and next superstar."
The 17-year-old Germany U21 international does have great potential but should "go his own way and develop his own style." Wirtz is an "incredibly talented player and should be given time," added Daum.
The 18-months at Leverkusen represent a section of his already impressive career that Toni Kroos would not like to forget. In 2018, the central midfield player, who has now been at Real Madrid for six years, said to SPORT BILD: "I've got very good memories of Leverkusen and I'm grateful I had the chance there to improve and perform consistently. It was an incredibly important time in my career."
Born in Greifswald, Kroos joined Bayer 04 on loan from Bayern Munich in January 2009 and he went on to make 43 Bundesliga appearances for the Black and Reds before returning to Munich. The 2014 World Cup winner celebrates his 31st birthday on Monday. Bayer 04 wish Toni: happy birthday!
Bayer 04 TV bring you the best goals, assists and magic moments from our former number 39 in a Werkself shirt. Watch the video HERE.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will to have manage without forward Eliesse Ben Seghir. The Morocco international suffered a ligament injury in his left ankle before the AFCON final defeat against Senegal (0-1 a.e.t.).
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The VBL Club Championship 2025/26 continues. Tonight, 27 January (live on Twitch and on the Bayer 04 app from 18:00 CET), the Leverkusen eSports team will play the remaining three matches in the online preliminary round of Showdown Four. They are up against FC Kaiserslautern, SC Freiburg and the current club champions and Showdown Three winners RB Leipzig, with whom Bayer 04, club runners-up and Showdown One winners, shared some memorable moments, especially last year. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed Swiss goalkeeper Jonas Omlin from Borussia Mönchengladbach. The 32-year-old joins the Werkself from the Lower Rhine Bundesliga club on loan to the end of the current season. This is the reaction of Bayer 04 to the injury to first choice keeper Mark Flekken, who faces a long spell on the sidelines.
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Welcome to Leverkusen, Jonas Omlin. Bayer 04 have signed the 32-year-old goalkeeper on loan from Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach until the end of the season. Managing director sport Simon Rolfes described the Swiss shot stopper, signed by the Werkself in reaction to the long-term absence of first choice keeper Mark Flekken, as an "internationally experienced keeper." Bayer04.de takes a closer look at the new signing, who will wear the number 18 jersey.
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Lucas Vázquez was the hero in Saturday's 1-0 home win against Werder Bremen, when the Spaniard scored his first Bundesliga goal to secure an important victory for Leverkusen. The 34-year-old right-sided recently met up with the Werkself magazine for an interview in the Düsseldorf restaurant Casa Galicia after the first few months of settling in to his new home in Germany. Over tapas, the five-time Champions League winner, who left Real Madrid in the summer after 18 years to continue his career at Bayer 04, spoke about his career to date, the new challenge in Leverkusen and the importance of family - and he paid a big compliment to the fans of his new club.
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