
One Werkself player can actually benefit from the suspension of matches due to the coronavirus pandemic: Kevin Volland. What the 27-year-old most needed after his injury blow was time. And he got it. It’s almost two months since Volland suffered an ankle injury in a challenge in the Europa League game against FC Porto, he then underwent an immediate operation and is now working on his recovery. After weeks of rehab in the Werkstatt at the BayArena, Volland is now back on the training ground and working with the ball again. The striker had almost written off the current season but now a comeback could be on the agenda if the season starts again.
He came into the world in 1994 – today, Mitchell Weiser celebrates his 26th birthday. Bayer 04 wish him a very happy and, above all, healthy birthday. In the morning, ‘Mitch’ received congratulations from his teammates – obviously with the prescribed social distancing – at the training session at the BayArena. The evening will provide the chance for a longer celebration as the Werkself have tomorrow off.
The squad under Peter Bosz returned to training at the club on 1 April in small groups – of course, following all regulations and adhering to the distancing rule. Karl-Heinrich Dittmar, medical director at Bayer 04, explains how it works – on bayer04.de.



The ranks of the honorary captains were extended by the addition of Rüdiger Vollborn and Stefan Kießling in the summer of 2019. bayer04.de is using the current period without games to say a big thank you to these Werkself legends. The six-part series comes to an end this Friday with a profile of Vollborn.
Former Bayer 04 player Dominik Kohr made his Bundesliga debut eight years ago to the day – and that was at Leverkusen. The Bayer 04 homegrown player made his first appearance at the age of 18 under coach Sascha Lewandowski in the 1-0 away win at TSG Hoffenheim when he replaced André Schürrle on 89 minutes – the first Bundesliga match of a total of 162 to date (54 for Bayer 04, 91 for FC Augsburg, 17 for Eintracht Frankfurt). Kohr left the Werkself in the summer to join Eintracht Frankfurt and he has made 29 appearances.


Following the summer break of around two months, the Bayer 04 first team squad took to the training pitches at the BayArena for the first time on Tuesday – and the players were in high spirits. Alongside the newly formed coaching team led by head coach Carles Martínez, new signing Afonso Moreira also completed his first session with the squad. In front of several hundred Bayer 04 fans at the open session, numerous Werkself players worked up a good sweat. The Leverkusen players who took part in the World Cup will join pre-season training at a later date.
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In mid-August, the Werkself will set off on a four-day trip to England to play their final two friendly matches of the 2026/27 pre-season against Premier League clubs Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United. The match in Nottingham against the Tricky Trees is on Wednesday 12 August at 20:45 CEST (19:45 BST) at the City Ground. The game against the Magpies in Newcastle is on Saturday 15 August at 16:00 CEST (15:00 BST) at the atmospheric St James’ Park. Details on ticket sales for both matches.
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Black and Red talent development at the highest level – even off the pitch: Apprentices Jule Suermann, Leandra Bellia and Julia Niederheide have successfully completed their two- or three-year apprenticeships at the club. Bayer 04 honoured the trio at the BayArena on Tuesday.
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Rieden reloaded: Just like last year, the Bayer 04 Women’s team are spending their summer training camp in this idyllic corner of Bavaria. From this Sunday, coach Roberto Pätzold’s team will be based in Rieden in the Upper Palatinate for a week.
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